The Shark

staff & support: the overlooked tragedy of law firm layoffs

[patrick]

The NYT just published a three page “Study in Why Major Law Firms Are Shrinking” featuring attorney layoffs at White & Case.

The thing that maddens me about this article, and many like it, is the hype over lawyer layoffs combined with stone cold silence about the staff and support service foks who are hit first, and hit hardest.

 According to the article, White & Case: "announced that 200 more lawyers would lose their jobs, nearly 1 in 10 at the firm over all — and not just young associates with everything in front of them, but some million-dollar-a-year ones . . . the ones with twin mortgages, kids in private school and no Plan B."

I do not mean to downplay the fear and anxiety those attorneys must feel, and I am certainly not trivializing anyone – job loss is deeply personal and sensitive – but let's not ignore the rest of the story! Do you think those lawyers are in a bind?

Try facing the same prospects with 20 years experience as a legal secretary, no college degree, three kids, a 401k decimated by Lehman Brothers, and the nagging sense (as evidenced by the article’s complete failure to mention you) that the shiny white shoes in your office care not a whit about your well-being.

THERE is the tragedy.

MoFo: "errr, we'll figure out that pesky payrate issue later!"

[cynthia]

Morrison & Foerster has announced that, in addition to pushing back start dates to April of 2010, they really have no idea what they'll be paying those first years, either. From their statement, which we found at Above the Law:

"Additionally, I want to let you know that we are reviewing market data regarding starting salaries. We will contact you closer to your starting date to confirm starting salaries. We will provide an updated offer letter, along with an updated handbook, at that time."

Call me a cynic, but why do I get the feeling they're waiting for another firm to lower salaries below what they want to pay, so they're not among the cheapest firms on the market?

ATL also points out that MoFo is historically slow in the decision-making process. After announcing it was planning to defer start dates, it took MoFo three months and some change to come down with an exact start date, leaving 3Ls hanging in the meantime.

most new york firms are slashing summer programs, but two stand out as possibly secure ports in storm.

[cynthia foster]

The New York Law Journal has released some statistics on local firms' summer associate programs. While we've reported on the downturn in summer associate class sizes before, I thought you all would be interested in some more anecdotal evidence that things are rough right now. As you might've expected, the large majority of firms have taken the ax to their classes, with 20 out of 25 firms surveyed by the NYLJ cutting their programs (.pdf).

There was some good news, however. Some firms, like Debevoise and Kirkland, have actually increased their class sizes in their New York offices. Both Debevoise and Kirkland have also deferred first-year associates by only as much as a couple of months (latest starts are in Novemeber of 2009), which is heartening in a market where some firms are deferring people by as much as a year or paying them to stay away period. A small bright spot in your bleak job search might be sending in a resume to either firm.

lawyers embarrass a law student. with video.

[patrick]

My newsfeed's fine sense for the absurd, which manifests by juxtaposition, never fails to deliver: Last week I received "good news" about the slipping economy (it has reduced traffic congestion) alongside "this week in layoffs" at ATL. Today Senator Burris swore to his innocence in the NYT while his peers began clucking and posturing for Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing.

Also today, I received a passionate defense of lawyer advertising, alongside a collection of five truly hideous, completely genuine, lawyer advertisements. 

The defense of lawyer advertising, by Professor Stern from Florida State University College of Law argues that "[b]ans on self-laudatory lawyer ads are paternalistic, overly broad and elitist" and also unconstitutional.  There are many reasons to think he's mistaken, but I'm going to skip the constitutional babbling and simply rest on the Hammer, the Bitter, the Good Guys, the Daredevil, and the California Switchblade (who is from Oklahoma), all of whom peddle their wares with a straight face in the YouTube videos below.

So, who is paternalistic, overly broad, and elitist?  You be the judge: 

Look, call me a stodgy, old-fashioned, curmudgeon. But isn't this supposed to be a profession? 

Source here.

fish & richardson rescinds offers, defers start dates, generally wreaks havoc.

[cynthia foster]

Things are pretty bad over at Fish & Richardson. I think things have to be really bad for a firm to wait until so late in the game to announce they are deferring people for a year and essentially rescinding offers. That's indeed the announcement the firm management made today, as reported by Above the Law (with some really, really, really angry tipsters weighing in).

Directly from the firm's press release:

"While approximately one-third of our 2009 associate class will start on time, we are deferring the majority of the class to October 2010. About half of those deferred will receive a stipend of $5,000 per month for twelve months, along with reimbursement for health insurance. We have informed the other half of those deferred that, given current economic conditions, it is unlikely that we will have a position for them next fall, and we have advised them to seek other opportunities. That group will receive a stipend of $5,000 per month for six months, along with reimbursement for health insurance, and we will revisit their situations in mid-2010."

This is one of the worst deals for law students to make its way onto our table of doom. Sorry about this one, guys.

pillsbury finally makes their start date announcement. the news ain't good.

[amanda royal]

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has deferred more than half its fall class until January 2010, and the rest until January 2011, the firm said Friday.

And, if the associates want to go away altogether, Pillsbury will hand them a check for $60,000. Only one other firm that we know of, Stroock, did that and their check was for $75,000. 

Pillsbury deferred 32 of 54 incoming associates until January. The remaining 22 associates are deferred until January 2011.

In addition, all 54 of Pillsbury’s incoming associates have the option to work at non-profit firm for a year. Pillsbury will pay the nonprofit $60,000 to cover the costs of employing each associate, and will make a $15,000 loan available to the associate until they join the firm.

All incoming associates are eligible for bar exam cost reimbursement.

“We regret that current economic realities mean that some of these highly talented and gifted law school graduates may have to wait up to a year before they can join us,” said Pillsbury Chair Jim Rishwain in a firm statement. “But regardless of whether they start in 2010 or 2011, we view each incoming associate as a member of the Pillsbury team, and we hope the options we are providing may help lessen the difficulties they may face during the transition period.”

In response to tanking demand for legal services, most big firms are requiring incoming associates to start later, with just a few, like Skadden, offering deferral as an option. Most firms have also offered an option to work at a nonprofit or public interest firm at their cost.

You can check out our table keeping track of which firms have deferred and what their programs entail and you can read Pillsbury's full release after the jump.

Amanda is a Cal Law reporter. You can follow her on Twitter.

summer associate programs 2010: like cabo san lucas after swine flu.

[cynthia foster]

Earlier in the week, Petra wrote a Cal Law story on the outlook for summer associate programs in 2010. Unsurprisingly, that outlook isn't great (free reg. reg.).

According to Petra, "some law firms are playing it safe by reducing their 2010 summer programs or skipping them altogether." Among those sitting 2010 out is Sedgwick, Deter, Moran & Arnold. Gordon & Rees hasn't made its mind up yet about the status of its summer program.

As we've previously reported, firms have also scaled back their 2009 programs, and its expected the fall OCI won't be the flurry of activity its been in previous years.

"It is my sense from talking to my peers [at other firms] that they are dramatically scaling back the number of people they're looking for in their fall on-campus interviews," said Paul Glad, managing partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal (the firm has shortened their 2009 summer program and deferred start dates for incoming associates).

Sari Zimmerman, from career services at Hastings, says there's been a "significant drop" in the number of firms signed on to even participate in OCI.

So what does that mean for you? First of all, be sure to be relevant.

"It will be more important for students to know a bit more about the firm going into OCI interviews, as opposed to waiting for the callback to make their case," said non-lawyer Lorraine Connally, who is in charge of Allen Matkins summer programs.

While firms are acknowledging that they are "[re-examining] their model]," it's not all bad news for everyone. OCI is still a meaningful place for recruiting with an eye on diversity, and summer programs provide firms with good opportunities to find minority talent. According to Petra's story, Gordon & Rees managing partner Dion Cominos "said [summer programs are] often better than the later market for channeling diverse candidates into the firm."

the start date deferral after party. unfortunately, i'm serious.

[cynthia foster]

I've made some pretty hefty updates to the economy vs. law student/big law deferral table — it's kind of taken on a life of its own at this point. Please keep the news coming in. We're wondering in particular about Pillsbury and Fenwick.

One notable trend you all might want to take notice of is that some firms are doing a second round of deferrals; they're taking their original deferral dates and extending them. Three notable firms doing this: Foley, Paul Weiss, Seyfarth. Seyfarth extended their October 2009 deferral date into the great unknown of just "2010."MoFo is also pushing approx. 40 associates back to April 2010 (after an initial deferral to November), and has introduced an option to defer through January 2011.

Check out the table for more information and, as always, you can email us.

CMCP: law is relationships. oh, and hitting up career services.

[cynthia foster]

I spent this morning at a professional development event run by the California Minority Counsel Program. The panel discussion featured several speakers, including in-house counsel and attorneys from private firms, and centered around career development for women and minorities. The conversation drifted from tips and tricks-style advice-giving to anecdotes about personal experiences.

A lot of the advice, particularly when it came to talking about job searching, was pretty standard stuff. Disseminate your resume in as many places as you can. Start your own networking group, even if it's just a group of like-minded individuals having dinner and talking about your industry. Join professional associates, attend trade shows. Find companies that are in the news and gaining economic traction, and apply with them as they grow. One theme echoed throughout the conversation: law is relationships. Network, network, network.

Duane Valz, VP and Associate General Counsel at Yahoo, told the audience that the best way to ensure you don't get laid off once you've found a job is to "always give the impression [at work] that you're bringing good value" to your company. Jim Potter, a Sr. VP and GC at Del Monte Foods, went through quite list of tips including an interesting one of always having multiple versions of your resume on hand - he recommended the magic number of seven.

All pretty good advice. During the question and answer portion of the discussion, several junior partners stood up to ask for help on how to manage their book of business during rough economic times.

What I thought was the best nugget from the event, though, was something that might be a little less encouraging to you all. Theodora Lee, a shareholder at Littler Mendelson, encouraged junior associates to trek on over to the career services offices of their alma maters, saying that these offices have "opened themselves up" to unemployed alums.

As I wrote in my notes, "Yay for law students!" Not only is there a question of whether or not career services can offer a whole lot to job-searching students, but now there'll be competition for face time and resources with all your school's alumni! As Petra said in a recent Cal Law story about the rising levels of competition for public sector jobs, the "door of opportunity is getting jammed with feet."

the arrival of the suspiciously perky am law 100 results.

[cynthia foster]

The American Lawyer has released their venerable Am Law 100 list, version 2009.  Above the Law provides some analysis, but what I'd like to really point out is a nice feature they're running along side it: a layoff list, with information on employment "shifts" (nice euphemism) organized by firm.

For those of you gearing up for OCI next year, or who are planning on spending the summer analyzing your future job prospects, these various charts may provide you with some fodder.  The charts themselves are free without registration, but several of the accompanying articles are subscription only.