Biglaw

The Pandemic's Impact On The Legal Industry (Through April)

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says what we all know is true.

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If you’re a regular reader of Above the Law, you will not be shocked to learn that COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on the legal industry. Damn near every day we are reporting on layoffs or furloughs or salary cuts or some other austerity measure designed to help firms maintain cash flow and navigate these uncertain times.

The latest jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics actually quantifies what even casual observers of the industry know is true — that the legal profession has lost a hella lot of jobs because of the coronavirus. According to BLS, there was a net loss of 64,000 jobs in the legal sector, bringing the total number of jobs in the industry down to 1,097,006. The April report also had updated stats for March, showing 1,700 legal sector jobs were lost that month.

Of course, it isn’t just the legal industry that has taken a hard hit during these tumultuous times. There have been massive job losses across the nation in all industries, a figure BLS puts at 20 million jobs lost in April. And unemployment rose by 10.3 percent, which is the largest monthly increase since January 1948, when records started being kept.

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. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff, salary cut, or furlough announcement that we publish.

Legal Industry Shed 64,000 Jobs in April as Layoffs and Furloughs Spread [Law.com]

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email

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