It’s a bad news day in Brooklyn. This morning, the class of 2010 made Brooklyn Law look foolish. Now we’ve received reports that the Brooklyn DA’s Office has laid off 13 attorneys and two staffers in the past week.
It’s big news, especially for law students and private practice attorneys who think that working for the government gives you unchallenged job security. Government lawyers might be somewhat buffered from the tyranny of the legal market economy, but they can still be shown the door.
And word coming out of Charles Hynes’s office is that these 15 people were let go for poor performance…
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The layoffs have been confirmed by a spokesperson for the Kings County District Attorney in a brief statement to Above the Law:
13 ADAs and 3 support staff have been let go following performance reviews.
Here’s how one source described the mood at the office this morning:
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The DAs and support staff are running scared at the Brooklyn DA’s Office. 10-12 attorney layoffs have occurred in the last week, all for supposedly performance-based reasons, with more supposedly on the way. The attorneys laid off were of all levels, from junior ADAs all the way to deputies.
The spokesperson for the D.A.’s office didn’t comment about whether or not more cuts were on the way.
We also spoke to a source in the Manhattan D.A.’s office who reported “all quiet here.” So maybe this was an isolated incident of DA Hynes cleaning out some deadwood?
In any event, good luck to those who lost their jobs. The very slow private sector recovery is underway, so hopefully you’ll land on your feet.
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