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.
- California Draws a Line on Legal AI And Lawyers Need to Pay Attention
For years, lawyers have been quietly experimenting with generative AI while publicly pretending it was all very theoretical. That luxury just expired however has expired as the California passes a first-of-its kind bill that will doubtless be replicated in other jurisdictions. The California Senate has passed SB 574 aimed squarely at how lawyers use artificial intelligence in legal practice. If it becomes law, California will be the first major jurisdiction to formally regulate AI use by lawyers, not with vague principles, but with obligations that cut straight to competence, ethics, and liability. In short: lawyers can use AI, but they own the consequences. And that’s something many will find daunting given the hallucinations and legal repercussions of legal AI’s misuse. - Brabners’ Eight-Year Growth Streak Powers London Expansion: What Regional Firms Can Learn
While London’s legal market dominates headlines with US firms driving salary wars and Magic Circle mergers, Brabners’ consistent growth story offers a compelling counter-narrative. The firm’s eight consecutive years of profitable expansion demonstrates that sustainable growth doesn’t require a City postcode—it requires strategic vision, client focus, and calculated expansion timing. And leadership from people like managing partner Nik White (Pictured), who the firm described as the ‘driving force’ behind its growth. At a time when UK law firms collectively generated £37 billion in revenue, with more than half posting double-digit increases, Brabners’ measured approach to London expansion represents a textbook case of regional strength leveraging metropolitan opportunity. Log in to read the rest . . - New, Aggressive Ransomware Group Attack New Zealand Law Firm
A New Zealand law firm is investigating a cyber incident that has seen passport scans and other sensitive data linked to… Read more: New, Aggressive Ransomware Group Attack New Zealand Law Firm - Fast-Growing Spencer Fane Joined by 16 Attorneys
Spencer Fane is pleased to announce that a team of 16 new attorneys – including five associates, three of counsel, and… Read more: Fast-Growing Spencer Fane Joined by 16 Attorneys - What is the largest personal injury law firm in America?
Ben Thomson, LawFuel contributing writer Morgan & Morgan is the law firm that is widely seen as the largest personal injury… Read more: What is the largest personal injury law firm in America?
Skadden laid off its most vulnerable employees while making huge profits and promoted thirteen lawyers to partner. Sounds a little fishy to me.