Biglaw

Am Law 100 Firm Conducting Layoffs Among Partners, Counsel

Cold comfort if you suddenly find yourself unexpectedly out of work right before the holidays.

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Some partners and counsel at Am Law 100 firm Husch Blackwell are not having a very happy holiday this year. The firm has announced they are conducting layoffs among partners and counsel; no associates will be impacted by the cuts. And we were just telling you about all the jobs the legal sector lost…

Precise numbers of those getting pink slips in their stocking are hard to ascertain, though the firm has confirmed approximately 40 attorneys will be off their payroll in some combination of layoffs and retirement. That’s… a big loss in the most senior ranks of the firm. The cuts come only a year after Husch Blackwell acquired Wisconsin-based regional firm Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek — a move that launched the firm into the Am Law 100.

In a statement, the firm maintains the changes are all a matter of right-sizing, and that with new hires made throughout the year, there isn’t much net change in the firm’s size:

Husch Blackwell CEO Greg Smith and Chairman Maurice Watson said Friday in a prepared statement: “With retirements and other year-end transitions, approximately 40 attorneys, all partners or counsels, are expected to leave the firm. Such departures are offset, in part, by new attorney hires throughout the year, and our firm had a net increase of 12 attorneys for the 12-month period ending October 31, 2017. Given our firm’s size and scale, these attorney transitions are expected and normal.”

Which is cold comfort if you suddenly find yourself unexpectedly out of work right before the holidays.

[gavel bang: Law and More]

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headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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