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This list is helpful. Thank you.
Also a full list on Abovethelaw too.
Interesting and scary all at the same time. Thankful not to be in big law
Depending on the region and bread and butter practice areas, I’d say midsize firms are not doing worse. They don’t offer a job to every person who spends 2 months in the summer with them, they get a lot of laterals who already know WTF they’re doing, and they don’t overpay attorneys. Much leaner. Plus they’re getting SBA loans
Goodwin Procter (V37) is doing stealth layoffs. 3 months for affected people to quit or move on, and being done for "performance" reasons. In my corporate practice group, can anecdotally say about 15% of associates affected but not sure how widespread it is across the firm and practice group
A8 You asked a question because you didn’t read my first comment carefully enough and I answered. Have a great day!
Oof. This is rough.
Baker McKenzie (V32) - 15% pay cut for associates
Orrick (V34) - 15% pay cut for senior associates; 10% pay cut for junior and mid-level associates
K&L Gates (V40) - 15% pay cut for associates
Shearman (V44) - Voluntary 3-6 month sabbatical while being paid 30% of normal salary (or 40% of normal salary if pro bono work is performed)
Baker Botts (V45) - 20% pay cut for associates
Linklaters (V46) - Deferring 50% of its next bonus round payout and pushing back salary reviews by six months
Cadwalader (V52) - 25% pay cut for associates
Dentons (V55) - 20% pay cut for all associates except first-years (second-years get a slightly less than 20% cut so they don't get paid less than first-years); 15% pay cut for first-year associates; 50% of 2019 bonuses will be paid on time and the other 50% will be paid in the second half of 2020
McDermott Will & Emery (V57) - Unspecified percentage of associates laid off
Reed Smith (V61) - 15% pay cut for associates
Norton Rose (V66) - Unspecified percentage of associates laid off; 15% pay cut for associates
Update from ATL: Pillsbury (V62) - 20% pay cut for associates and counsel; reduction of partner draws by 25%.
I don’t want to be a party pooper but I don’t think obsessing about this stuff is particularly healthy for anyone right now. I don’t understand what any of us can hope to gain by stalking this info in the moment. If cuts or layoffs happen anywhere, that is awful and everyone feels sorry. But I’m not sure what the lesson is other than to maybe ask really detailed questions of wherever you may end up lateraling to about how conservative the firm is with their finances. Or maybe understand that no matter how much research you try to do or however many questions you ask, you might find out the hard way that a firm can be pandemic-proof but not some other crisis-proof—just like lots of attorneys are learning that having weathered the 08-09 recession does not necessarily mean it will be pandemic-proof now. I don’t want to come across as unempathetic because I know this is a very stressful time, but whatever your firm chooses to do is beyond your control, and far from set in stone. Everyone should be making personal financial choices, and attempting to live their lives, accordingly.
I think the answer is probably that ppl who are interested in such information or find it useful can read and/or share it and others can ignore it.
Winston & Strawn cut partner draws by 50%, associate compensation is under consideration.
Nixon Peabody (V68) - 5% of associates laid off and 5% of associates furloughed
Crowell & Moring (V69) - 15% pay cut for associates
Venable (V70) - 20% pay cut for associates
Squire Patton Boggs (V72) - 20% pay cut for associates
Sheppard Mullin (V74) - 12% pay cut for associates
Arent Fox (V77) - 25% pay cut for associates
Katten (V81) - 20% pay cut for associates
Bryan Cave (V82) - 15% pay cut for associates OR a sabbatical while being paid 30% of normal salary OR going onto a part-time schedule with a corresponding reduction in salary
Seyfarth Shaw (V83) - 10% pay cut for associates and ~50 attorneys furloughed for 90 days
Fox Rothschild (V85) - 10-15% pay cut for associates (10% of pay up to $200k, plus 20% of pay over $200k, provided that the maximum total pay cut is 15%)
Duane Morris (V87) - 15% pay cut for associates; elimination of 401(k) matching
Davis Wright Tremaine (V90) - 12% pay cut for associates
Blank Rome (V92) - 15% pay cut for associates
Kilpatrick (V93) - 5% pay cut for associates
Ballard Spahr (V94) - 15% pay cut for associates; no raises
Mintz Levin (V96) - 10% pay cut for associates; no discretionary bonus (hours bonus remains untouched); 5% pay cut for patent agents
Foley Hoag (V98) - 15% pay cut for associates; 7.5% pay cut for patent agents making >$150k
Littler (V99) - 13% pay cut for all associates except first and second-years; 11% pay cut for first and second-year associates
Kilpatrick laid off attorneys but never confirmed it
https://abovethelaw.com/2020/04/the-covid-crisis-law-firm-layoff-tracker-whats-your-firm-doing-to-survive/?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=87288864&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_UTlOM5vvgoT2sc2xM-gtpTKXp8lRh25pG7dTdHcgJb0juMa5rYEaXcqezrKjdmOxh_ZpP0a__tyUTPjWYBQMlhQ4svg&_hsmi=87288864
Feel free to add other firms doing lay offs and pay cuts.
Wow
Above the Law has a tracker for firm cuts and furloughs
Chief
Ummm, what your firm says in broad-based communication may not be how they actually handle things. Don't be naive.
Source: Latham late 2008 v early 2009.
Serious question to all posters here. What do you make of this data and what’s interesting or helpful to you about it?
TL1, seems to me that perhaps the more helpful way to think about it is what happened to the associates who were around 2008-2009, did they have increased loyalty? Not to say outside reputation doesn’t matter, but did those who were treated well return the favor?