We weren’t exactly going out on a limb when we predicted that there would be an uptick in layoffs after the beginning of the year. We were unpleasantly surprised when Kirkland was the first real American BigLaw firm to announce layoffs. At the time, we thought it would take a few weeks for end-of-year receipts to be tallied and the layoffs wouldn’t start until February. In fact, we naively thought we’d be able to keep up with the big layoffs on an individual basis. Woops.
By the end of the first full week in January, Kirkland & Ellis, Clifford Chance, Baker & McKenzie, Dickstein Shapiro, Wildman Harrold (which didn’t meet our arbitrary criteria for BigLaw, but was added due to popular demand), Loeb & Loeb and Parker Poe had announced layoffs, affecting 148 people. We quickly realized we’d have to start lumping the layoffs together in a weekly report.
Each week was worse than the prior. In week two, Allen & Overy laid off 10 (and far worse things were to come from the Magic Circle), Akin Gump laid off 65, and a spate of midsized firms announced: Ballard Spahr; Foley Hoag; Seyfarth Shaw; Dewey & LeBoeuf; and Blank Rome. Seven firms, 217 people. We also noted the Cahill issue. The firm handled the layoffs about as well as could be expected, but it’s exceedingly frustrating for those of us trying to keep track. Finally, though, we feel like we’ve got enough anecdotal evidence to put Cahill on the Tracker for 12.
The rest of the month and final analysis, after the jump.
The week ending January 23 saw activity spike. Linklaters and A&O continued the Magic Circle bloodletting, with Ashursts and Baker & McKenzie also cutting in London, and Cooley carried the flag for the Bay Area. Cadwalader realized it hadn’t cut enough in its first two waves, so it let nine more associates go. Many were surprised by Skadden, but that was “only” staff attorneys. Akin Gump, Squire Sanders, and Holland & Knight were among the others that contributed to the grand total of 293 for the week (not including a bunch of UK regional firms and a California real-estate firm).
The trend continued in the last week of January. The numbers were just mind boggling, considering the precedents. There were 858 individuals fired by BigLaw in that week alone. That was more than half of the 1,540 for the month of January and fully a quarter of the 3,311 total we’ve tracked so far. January had almost as many layoffs as the preceding 12 months combined (1,761). The obvious headliners of the week were Linklaters for 270 (120 lawyers, 150 staff), Morrison & Foerster for 201 (53 lawyers, 148 staff), and Wilson Sonsini for 113 (45 attorneys, 68 staff). Ropes & Gray was also in the mix for letting go 106 staff.
As far as the stealth firms go, we’ve got a number of reports on Latham & Watkins and Cooley, both of which should take a lesson in forthrightness from their California peers and just post the numbers, and Davis Polk. Firms we’re keeping an eye on: Alston & Bird; Hogan & Hartson; DLA Piper; and Winston & Strawn.
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Thanks for the great list – now send some clotting agents bc the blood has not stopped flowing in this industry…..
Such unfortunate news. Whoever thought being a LAWYER, would become unstable?
You do know that you list Hogan and Hartson as laying of 149 Staff, but they haven't . . . right?