This Week in Layoffs – 2/6/09

* Didn’t include Pierce Atwood (“the largest law firm in Maine”), which laid off seven attorneys and 14 staff.  I do have a soft spot for Crash Davis-esque analogies (most career home runs in the minor leagues), though.
* Corrected Fenwick & West – 30, not 36.  Thanks, Mr. Patsch.
* Added McDermott Will & Emery for 149 – 60 associates, 89 staff.
* Added Clifford Chance for 106 attorneys in NY and London.
* Another Crash-Davis wannabe Hodgson Russ (“the biggest Buffalo, NY firm” – see above) doesn’t make the list but did lay off 13 – 5 lawyers, 8 staff.
* Paul Hastings is trying to do stealth layoffs in Atlanta (where I didn’t even know they had an office).  Help us out them.
* I had never heard of British firm Olswang until they announced a “redundancy consultation” for up to 42 individuals – staff, attorneys and partners.
* Chicagoland’s Hinshaw & Culbertson laid off 28 – 11 lawyers (of 490 total), 17 staffers.
* Linklaters cut 10 more attorneys in Stockholm (of 91 total) – extending the firm’s grasp on the #1 spot of the wall of shame.

For better or worse, I’ve never heard of a bunch of the firms this week.  So this week, as Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty in her finest non-90210 role) said, could be “just another case of a geek trying to imitate the popular people and failing miserably.”

Also, bear in mind when reading articles about the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting 1,300 legal-services jobs lost in January, that those numbers are net of hiring.  Obviously, far more jobs were lost on a gross basis.

This was a difficult week for keeping up with the site, so I apologize.  I was traveling for business – contrary to speculation that I’m unemployed.

265 for the week and the month.
1,808 for the year.

Related posts:

1. This Week in Layoffs – 1/30/09
2. This Week in Layoffs – 6/19/09
3. This Week in Layoffs – 2/13/09
4. This Week in Layoffs – 3/13/09
5. This Week in Layoffs – 1/23/09