This page tracks layoffs at major law firms by the number of firms that have had layoffs reported in any given month in the current economic crisis, going back to January, 2008, when Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft was the first major New York firm to begin laying people off in anticipation of the collapse of the structured finance and real-estate practices.
The Law Firm Layoff Tracker main page includes several other charts that filter this information or present the data in different ways, as well as detailed information on the current and prior month.
We have also added links back to the monthly commentary, where available, for the current year. The Law Shucks BigLaw Layoff Tracker – Layoffs by Month breaks out historical periods’ layoffs and includes links to the weekly writeups, which are in-depth analyses of the particular week’s events at law firms and cover more than just layoffs.
We only track layoffs from major law firms, so readers should be aware of the methodology we use for the tracker to understand our process.
Index
Monthly Recaps
The Month in Layoffs for
Law Shucks BigLaw Layoff Tracker – Layoffs by Month (Count) – All Lawyers + Staff
The chart above is a running tally of the numer of layoffs reported in any given month, regardless of whether it was lawyers only, staff only, or a mix of the two.
Law Shucks BigLaw Layoff Tracker – Layoffs by Month (Count) – Lawyers Only
The chart above is a running tally of the numer of layoffs of lawyers reported in any given month. It is not the same as the number of lawyers laid off in any month, which is found on the main page for the current and prior months, and on the historic page for months previous. As noted in the methodology, attorney counts consist only of associates, counsel, of counsel, partners, stockholders, shareholders, and the like.
Law Shucks BigLaw Layoff Tracker – Layoffs by Month (Count) – Staff
The chart above is a running tally of the numer of layoffs of staff reported in any given month. It is not the same as the number of staff laid off in any month, which is found on the main page for the current and prior months, and on the historic page for months previous. As noted in the methodology, staff includes staff, contract, and temp attorneys, as well as traditional staff roles such as paralegals, support staff, and the like.
