Reed Smith to lay off 100 lawyers and staff

The steady drumbeat of layoffs in the legal world continued yesterday with the announcement by Reed Smith L.L.P. that it would let go 100 lawyers and staff in offices in the United States and London.

The firm, which is headquartered in Pittsburgh and has a large Center City office, said it would let go 17 lawyers in various U.S. offices and nine in its London office. A total of 74 administrative staff also would be laid off, the firm said, in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Source: Philly.com

Dechert lays off 125

The Dechert law firm said Thursday it has laid off 125 lawyers and staff firmwide due to the economic slowdown.

The cuts include 63 lawyers and nonlawyers including paralegals, plus 62 administrative staff.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal

Latest Layoff Wave Sees 300 Attorneys, 500 Staff Cut

The law firm layoffs haven’t let up. Four major firms announced job cuts on Monday, totaling more than 300 attorneys and 522 support staff.

White & Case plans to cut a total of 200 associates and 200 administrative staff. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius cut 55 attorneys and 161 staffers. King & Spalding cut 37 associate spots, as well as 85 support staff firmwide, while K&L Gates eliminated 36 associates and 76 staffers in its U.S. offices.

Source: Law.com

Orrick laying off 300 more

Following its first-ever layoffs four months ago, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has begun a second, deeper round of cuts.

The San Francisco-based law firm is laying off approximately 100 lawyers and 200 staff workers from its 21 offices in the United States, Asia and Europe. That is equal to 12 percent of its legal ranks and 14 percent of staffers.

The lawyer layoffs affected associates, who are more junior, salaried attorneys. No partners were laid off.

Source: San Francisco Business Times.

One Lawyer Layoff Saves an Average of $250K

Attorney layoffs have become industry standard in recent months, with at least 50 of the nation’s top law firms ushering practitioners out their doors and into a torpid job market. Law firm leaders and industry consultants say a firm cuts costs by an average of $250,000 for each attorney let go. For each legal assistant or other staffer laid off, a law firm saves about $100,000.

For most big law firms, about 85% of their budget goes to rent and personnel costs, say firm leaders, which means that the money saved by scaling back on copies, car services, partner retreats and marketing comes from a small percentage of their revenue.

Source: The National Law Journal