February 2009

We interrupt today’s blood-letting to bring you the latest from the NYT weddings page. In keeping with the dark mood around here, all of this week’s contestants are brunettes. Here they are: 1. Sophie Jensen and Robert Lalley 2. Vicky Hallett and Jeffrey Miller 3. Gillian Deutch and Daniel Solinsky See which of these newlyweds […]

Troubling rumors are circulating about Chicago-based Kirkland & Ellis. Tipsters say that: (1) layoffs are happening in the firm’s New York office, and (2) the start date for incoming associates is being pushed back to the end of the year. The firm laid off 15 to 25 non-equity partners in January. Now it appears to […]

The world is obsessed with celebrity professors Cass Sunstein and Samantha Power, who recently left the ivory tower to take high-ranking positions in the Obama Administration. He might someday sit on the Supreme Court; she’s a winner of the Pulitzer Prize; and together, as we previously reported (see the update), they’re creating the World’s Smartest […]

When it comes to lateral movement of lawyers from one firm to another, things seem pretty dead. If you’re an attorney with a job, you’re probably just holding on for dear life. Latham, holla. But it’s important to distinguish between lateral partner moves and associate moves. The latter are becoming increasingly rare, but the former […]

Records are being set this morning at Latham & Watkins. At 8:00 a.m. Eastern time, managing partner Bob Dell sent out an email announcing that the firm is laying off 190 associates and 250 staff. These numbers are on top of any “stealth layoffs” that may have previously occurred at the firm in the past […]

Dewey & LeBoeuf has been slowly shedding people over the past few months. The firm closed down its offices and relocated attorneys from Charlotte and San Francisco. There was some forced attrition in November. The firm announced structured finance layoffs in December. And the firm laid off a significant portion of its Los Angeles associates […]

* Yes, the Philadelphia D.A. did rescind offers to 12 incoming attorneys. With fewer prosecutors, now is the time for Mets fans to go to Citizen’s Bank Park and “appropriate” some hardware. [The Legal Intelligencer] * Are you an attorney worried about the economy? Legal bloggers feel your pain. [Law and More] * Yo, I […]

Could Friday end up being another Valentine’s Day Massacre? We’re already waiting to see if Latham will announce its layoffs tomorrow, but now we’ll also be waiting to see what K&L Gates does. We believe that K&L Gates will announce layoffs on Friday. We believe it will affect most of the firm’s offices — even […]

We regularly receive tips about free events, often educational or charitable in nature, that might interest our readers. Because we don’t have the ability to give shout-outs to all, and to ensure consistent treatment, we direct everyone with events to promote to mention them in our Community section. If your event is more commercial in […]

Management at Latham & Watkins continues to be incommunicado regarding the firm’s impending layoffs that we reported yesterday. Nonetheless, Above the Law has come by some information that could be positive for sleepless Latham associates. Multiple sources have told ATL that Latham could be offering a six-month severance package to the attorneys the firm is […]

Earlier this month, duty called us to a midtown Manhattan bar to cover a Pink Slip Party for our sister site, Dealbreaker. Geared toward those laid off from Wall Street, the “party” was a depressing scene meant to bring job-seekers together with potential employers. There were more recruiters than potential employers around, though, and there […]

Okay, let’s try to blow the lid off this thing. We know that some firms are rescinding offers to 3Ls, we just don’t know which ones. Here’s a quote from yesterday’s Workplace Prof Blog: I’ve just started hearing of major law firms rescinding or “indefinitely deferring” employment offers to this year’s 3Ls. At our school, […]

[Ed. Note: The following piece was authored by “The Legal Tease” of Sweet Hot Justice fame. You can check out all of Legal Tease’s other musings from Sweet Hot Justice here.] There have only been a handful of moments in my legal career–nay, in my life–when I’ve felt there was a decent possibility that all […]

* After visiting Guantanamo, Attorney General Eric Holder says the prison is “well-run now” but the administration is going to close it anyway. The White House just gave itself a big pat on the back. [Reuters] * The court rejected a Long island surgeon’s bid to get $1.5 million in compensation for the kidney he […]

* Former Covington & Burling staff attorney Yolanda Young is suing Covington & Burling for racial discrimination. [On Being a Black Lawyer] * If you don’t want to deal with racism at a law firm, maybe you should just go clerk for a couple of years…. oh, wait. Scratch that. [The Root] * Unless you […]

While the bad news continues to rain down on practicing attorneys, law students are the ones sitting there with a “deer in cataclysmic meteor event” look on their faces. It’s been a while since we gave law students a chance to vent their frustrations, so here we go. Today, NALP is out with actual statistics […]

Remember when being a staff attorney was a viable option in the Biglaw universe? As we have previously reported, many big firms are laying off their staff attorneys. Today, Dechert adds its name to that growing trend. Within the past few hours, we received a number of tips about staff attorney layoffs at Dechert. Our […]

In lieu of Wednesday’s ATL / Lateral Link featured job survey post — lolcat lover Justin Bernold is on vacation — we bring you a questionnaire about a topic near and dear to your hearts: Continuing Legal Education (CLE). If you’re at a firm that’s experiencing a slowdown due to the downturn, with many free […]

Hello, friends. The tables we’re compiling these days are not fun ones. We’ve posted running lists of the firms that have frozen salaries — as well as a list of those that haven’t — and, in this post, a list of the going rates in severance packages. With layoffs still going strong, knowing the severance […]

Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to [email protected]. ATL — I’m a third year associate (in M&A) at one of the firms that is offering a voluntary severance package to those associates willing to take it. As you guys reported, there are layoffs in store anyway, but the firm will […]