
US law firms continue to announce layoffs with recruiters and others saying more layoffs lie ahead with overcapacity among noneqjuity partners. One of the issues is that lawyers working from home are less reliant upon staff members at law firms.
Altman Weil principal Eric Seeger told Law.com that he has spoken with about three dozen managing partners in the last month, and all are reviewing staffing “with the intention of a head count reduction.”
Similar grim news was announced by Peter Zeughauser of the Zeughauser Group, who told Law360 that law firms are moving resources to strong practice areas and cutting in areas that are less productive and the practice has also served to protect higher-earning rainmaking partners and also to prevent poaching.
The latest law firm to announce layoffs is Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom which is laying off just under 4% of its professional staff across its U.S. offices, a spokesperson said last week.
Nixon Peabody is also reportedly planning to lay off some furloughed staff members, even as other furloughed staffers and lawyers were returning to work. The plans were revealed in a confidential memo that also announced that full salaries would be restored for many staff members.
In addition, Baker + McKenzie are laying off 6 per cent of their workforce in North America and Mexico, including lawyers and other legal professionas.
Davis Wright is laying off almost 40 staff members who had been furloughed and Venables is also laying off furloughed employees.
- The Lawyers Behind Fonterra’s $4.2B Mainland Group SaleWhich Lawyers Got the Cream in the Massive NZ Deal The sale of Fonterra’s global consumer and associated businesses, the Mainland… Read more: The Lawyers Behind Fonterra’s $4.2B Mainland Group Sale
- Which Law Firms Could Be Left Behind in the 2025 Pay + Legal AI Shake-Up?Big pay cheques, flashy AI demos, bold merger promises — these are all the usual theatrics in law firm press releases. But beneath the PR sheen, cracks are widening: not every firm can sustain both rising compensation and heavy AI spending without wobbling. Some are already looking shaky.
- Meet the $105M AI Startup Betting on A Legal Revolution With An AI Law FirmBigLaw’s Billable Hour Gets a Funeral While law firms continue their often theatrical performances about embracing AI—all while billing rates climb… Read more: Meet the $105M AI Startup Betting on A Legal Revolution With An AI Law Firm
- The Slater & Gordon Horror Show – Politics, Pay Sheets, and People PowerlessnessAnother Slater & Gordon Departure Heightens Crisis Slater & Gordon earns its bleeding stars this month with the departure of a… Read more: The Slater & Gordon Horror Show – Politics, Pay Sheets, and People Powerlessness
- US Law Merger – Carmody Announces Combination with New London Firm Waller Smith & Palmer P.C.A traumatic brain injury (TBI) represents one of the most catastrophic and life-altering consequences of an accident. Unlike a broken bone… Read more: US Law Merger – Carmody Announces Combination with New London Firm Waller Smith & Palmer P.C.
Skadden laid off its most vulnerable employees while making huge profits and promoted thirteen lawyers to partner. Sounds a little fishy to me.