Nationwide Layoff Watch: Firm Conducts 'Massive' Layoffs

A significant percentage of its employees - both lawyers and staff -- got hit by this round of layoffs.

Last week, much of the East Coast was plagued by torrential downpours thanks to Hurricane Joaquin. In New York City, umbrellas were turned inside out as gale-force winds whipped through the streets, leaving people soaking wet as the deluge of showers beat down upon them.

But make no mistake: that wasn’t wind, and it wasn’t rain. It was all of the air being sucked out of the room at a leading law firm, coupled with all of the teardrops that fell when attorneys and staff members were told to pack their bags and leave.

We’ve learned that leading plaintiffs’ firm Milberg LLP conducted large-scale layoffs sometime last week. How large are we talking? According to one of our sources, they were “massive,” swallowing up “as much as half the staff or more.” Another tipster told us that the firm had been performing rolling reductions for quite a while, but in the most recent round of layoffs, six attorneys were let go. For a firm that lists only 44 attorneys on its website, that’s more than 13 percent of headcount. (As to the supposed rolling layoffs, the Google cache of the firm’s “People” page, as of September 9, 2015, lists one more attorney than the current page. We wonder how it’ll look the next time it’s updated by the firm.)

Another source added that up to two-thirds of staff had been let go from Milberg, and those that remained were faced with big salary cuts. According to an additional source, a “substantial” percentage of the firm’s staff was laid off in this round of cuts.

We reached out to Milberg for confirmation. Here’s what a spokesperson told us:

Milberg LLP is streamlining its infrastructure in order to maximize productivity and efficiency. This decision is consistent with what many other law firms have done and continue to do in the face of changes in the legal services industry.

Milberg remains committed to stellar legal service and the achievement of positive results for its clients. The firm continues to file important new cases for the benefit of investors, consumers and the public at large.

Milberg managed to “streamline” a great percentage of its work force out of a job in the name of productivity and efficiency. Let’s see how productive and efficient the firm is when there are fewer employees around to perform stellar legal service.

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Do you have any additional details on what’s going on at Milberg? Please drop us a line. We wish all of the lawyers and legal professionals who may be affected at Milberg LLP the best of luck while they seek new job opportunities in the legal industry and beyond.

If your firm or organization is reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive — we’ll never ignore you. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477). Thank you very much!

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