Biglaw High-Yield Bond Practices Experiencing 'Painful Period' Thanks To Recessionary Market
There haven't been any layoffs, yet....
From a practice standpoint, it is a painful period, but it is temporary. The last two years were abnormal and unsustainable, we are not looking to experience that again. But, we are past the point of a nice respite.
Companies may have had debt that was maturing over the next few years, but they saw those rates and said let’s push it up. Because of that, it will be a couple of years before that significant refinancing picks up again.
— Jonathan Schaffzin, corporate partner and executive committee member of Cahill Gordon & Reindel, commenting in an interview with the American Lawyer, on current market conditions that appear to be hinting at an upcoming recession, which has caused firms that handle high-yield bond work to see a significant drop in business. “The majority of our lawyers are capable of working on both bank and bond deals. We have always been relatively leanly staffed because our lawyers can be flexible on what they work on,” Schaffzin said. “We aren’t sure exactly what the level of activity will be moving forward, but we have maintained our staffing numbers through various cycles of this nature.”
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
