What's Going On At Kenyon & Kenyon?
It sounds like this prominent intellectual-property firm is in trouble.
Back in April, Law360 published an interesting article, The Attorneys Who Should Be Worrying About Pink Slips (sub. req.). They mentioned the following types of lawyers whose jobs might be at risk: (1) Biglaw associates, (2) bankruptcy attorneys, (3) midmarket trial lawyers and litigators, (4) patent and trademark attorneys, and (5) New Jersey lawyers.
Category #4 is particularly interesting. We’ve heard a lot of anecdotal reports of IP lawyers and law firms that are struggling right now. What’s driving this slowdown? From a Law360 article published in March about the shrinking of IP boutiques:
“The amount of work in patent litigation in particular is down dramatically, and that’s something we all have to deal with,” said Michael Lennon, a senior partner at Kenyon & Kenyon.
He said the reduced amount of work is tied to a number of factors, including the passage of the America Invents Act, which created a new system for challenging patents. Those proceedings have been popular, but they tend to involve “fewer lawyers and much fewer billable hours” than infringement litigation in court, Lennon said.
Lennon also said there have been fewer recent instances of large companies filing major suits against each other that last for years, as was the case in the raft of suits over stents in years past. In addition, recent rulings invalidating patents under the U.S. Supreme Court’s Alice standard have made many companies wary about filing new suits, he said.
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As a Kenyon partner, Lennon knows all too well about the slowdown in IP work. In the one-year period leading up to March 2015, Kenyon shrank the most of the four IP boutiques examined by Law360 (Kenyon, Finnegan Henderson, Fitzpatrick Cella, and Brinks Gilson & Lione). Kenyon shed 32 lawyers, amounting to 20 percent of its headcount.
Also in March, the American Lawyer published a list of the fastest-shrinking firms in the period from October 2014 through March 2015. Once again, Kenyon made the cut, taking the #6 spot with an 11 percent dip in its attorney ranks. Am Law added that Kenyon is subletting space in New York to Walden Macht & Haran, the litigation boutique recently launched by former Gibson Dunn partner Jim Walden.
The situation could be even more dire than just declining headcount. Here is what we’ve been hearing about goings-on at Kenyon and Kenyon:
1. Last month, partners were told that they should voluntarily forgo taking their usual partnership draws because otherwise the firm would have difficulty meeting payroll.
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2. In the past year, an unspecified number of partners have been “de-equitized,” i.e., removed from the ranks of equity partners.
3. Earlier this year, the firm conducted staff layoffs. The reductions included secretaries, paralegals, library staff, IT staff, and docket management personnel. Approximately 20 individuals were affected.
4. The firm is struggling in the wake of significant partner departures, including the loss of five IP litigation partners to Goodwin Procter: Elizabeth Holland, Robert Cerwinski, Huiya Wu, Cynthia Lambert Hardman, and William G. James. Holland and James had served on Kenyon’s Management Committee. They were later joined at Goodwin by selected associates, as well as partner Marcia Sundeen, former leader of Kenyon’s International Trade Commission (ITC) practice.
5. Morale among lawyers and staff is currently low, and many Kenyon denizens are exploring other opportunities.
We presented all of these points to the firm for possible comment, on multiple occasions over the past few days, but we have not yet heard back. If and when we do, we will update this story.
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Some sources did express optimism that Kenyon can right itself. The firm has bounced back from tough times before. Back in 2007, for example, the firm laid off 16 lawyers, but then found its footing again in subsequent years.
Is Kenyon going through just another temporary slowdown in the boom-and-bust cycle of IP litigation, or is the firm in deeper trouble? If you have information you’d like to share with us about the state of affairs at Kenyon, please email us (subject line: “Kenyon and Kenyon”) or text us (646-820-8477).
The Attorneys Who Should Be Worrying About Pink Slips [Law360 (sub. req.)]
IP Boutiques Shrink Amid Litigation Slowdown [Law360 (sub. req.)]
Head Count Winners and Losers [American Lawyer (sub. req.)]
Partners Leave Kenyon for a ‘Bigger Platform’ [American Lawyer (sub. req.)]
Goodwin Procter Grabs Another Partner From Kenyon & Kenyon [American Lawyer (sub. req.)]
Goodwin Procter Expands IP Litigation Group with Addition of Five Partners from Kenyon & Kenyon [Goodwin Procter]
