How bad is it at Gunderson? Isn’t 30 associates a large amount for them to layoff as they aren’t that big? Do we think layoffs will hit other firms like Fenwick, Wilson Sonsini, Goodwin etc? Crazy how things have changed in Bay Area…

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Cooley and Gunderson dramatically overhired and are more leveraged to emerging companies corporate work than any other. The others are much much more conservative and have more diverse practices. In fact, some are even looking to pick up some of this low hanging fruit.

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A great book is "The Lawyer Bubble"

Touting your firm as a “lifestyle firm” that’s “nothing at all like V10” to lateral recruits and then abruptly laying off those lateral recruits in <18 months is next level twisted.

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Yeah there were a few homegrown who were let go for legitimate performance. But the remaining 10 or so were all laterals

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Gunderson should NEVER shake this one. Pushing associates start dates back (if they ever happen at all for all of them), laying off this many associates, and doing it while touting a lifestyle approach — not cool.

Honestly, they had this stank after 2008 and their massive layoffs. In fact, I had an offer that I took over a V10 and then withdrew after some mini-agony a little while ago.

My reason? Despite what they said—past actions mattered and I knew we were headed for a downturn. But they were hiring like crazy….

I kicked myself, wondering if it was the right thing for SO LONG. I mean the work and people seemed so anti-hostile biglaw…

Well, NOPE.

The shitty part is the ECVC work was CRUSHING associates too. It was bonkers and they were doing so many fucking IPOs. They led so many industry reports on profitability and number of deals in that space. Which means associates were fucking SACRIFICING for them.

To turn around and do this without the grace of doing it 6 months from now—is such a bad look.

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I agree - my friend said that the party line was not only to couch these as performance issues but that these terminations were long overdue, which is such a slap in the face for all the associates laid off billing > 2000 during the pandemic (at least one of them suffered a family death during it). And still the partners don’t take responsibility for over hiring and instead push responsibility on the associates and say “hey, if you are anxious - get your butt in the office and ask for work”

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And a huge chunk of their hires were in NY, where they literally doubled headcount

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Floods of folks left my V10 during the pandemic for Gunderson. As a senior hired at the tail end of the recession, I personally could never let go of their prior layoff history though. Hope those laid off are able to find new positions with relative ease. Seems like it’s going to get worse for all of us before it gets better

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V10 means the firm is in the top 10 of Vault rankings

Wow I didn’t hear about Gunderson. 😢 is that confirmed?

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It is 10 hrs per week, that was a typo

2008:

Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian laid off at least half of the newest class of associates in its biggest office Monday, in a sign of deepening woe in Silicon Valley.

The 130-lawyer firm let go five of 10 first-years in Silicon Valley, according to two laid-off associates. A second-year was also let go from that office. The cuts also included one associate in Boston and one in San Diego, those associates said.

They say the firm counted about 90 associates in its four offices before the layoffs.

Name partners at the firm did not return late-afternoon e-mails seeking comment.

Gunderson Dettmer is the latest in a string of firms to announce associate layoffs.

Partners there told the associates that the decision was not made based on performances, but in response to a slowdown in work that would stretch into 2009, the two associates said.

One of them said that a severance package was offered to cover at least three months.

Most of the first-years had summered at the firm in 2007 and only started in October.

“I think it was obvious that they had overhired,” said one of the associates, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They hire a year-and-a-half or two years in advance. That was just a whole different climate than it is now.”

While the associates indicated they were not taking the situation personally, they did say they are stunned and a bit worried about what’s next. “We were all pretty upset as the firm spent a considerable amount of time selling their image as a smaller, more caring firm, but obviously that didn’t last,” one of the associates said. “It’s going to be rough trying to find new positions as junior associates, especially with the current economy.”

In November, The Recorder reported the firm’s Silicon Valley office was moving from Menlo Park to the east side of Highway 101. At the time, partner Robert Gunderson Jr. denied that the firm was moving to save money, but a broker said the cost-per-foot was lower. “We had a terrific year last year, and all signs point to us having a very good year this year,” Gunderson wrote in an e-mail then.

History is repeating for the corporate firm. The firm, founded in 1995 by partners from Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, prompted a nationwide associate salary war in 2000 when it raised first-year pay to $125,000, plus a guaranteed minimum bonus of $20,000.

But when the dot-com bust came along in 2001, the firm canceled guaranteed bonuses for associates. Between that year and 2002, the firm also went through multiple rounds of layoffs, letting go of at least 24 associates, plus some staff.

By 2004, things were looking up: The firm gave salary bumps to all associates but first-years. In 2007, it pushed first-year pay to $145,000, and has since gone to $160,000.

To see if your firm is on the Layoff List, click here.

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They have 340 associates listed on their website, so would be about 10% of associates.

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A7, I heard they’re mostly midlevels who are not recent laterals.

Whaaaaat!!!!???!!?!! Omg omg omg omg

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Wow

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