Latham & Watkins Cuts 190 Lawyers

[IndianaGreen]

Source: Washington Post

Latham & Watkins Cuts 190 Lawyers

Huge Global Firm Lays Off 250 Others
By V. Dion Haynes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 28, 2009; Page D01

In a vivid illustration of how the global recession is battering the legal profession, Latham & Watkins, one of the largest law firms in the nation, announced yesterday that it will let go 190 lawyers and 250 paralegal and support staff.

Latham & Watkins, which represents clients such as District-based Carlyle Group, Goldman Sachs, Harrah's Entertainment and UBS, has nearly 270 lawyers in Washington and more than 2,000 worldwide.

The firm is struggling with declining profits as corporate clients slash legal spending because of a reduction in mergers and acquisitions, capital finance and transactions. The job cuts are among thousands that have roiled through the industry in recent months.

In February, hundreds of jobs were cut at firms with District offices, including 243 at Holland & Knight, 134 at Bryan Cave and 29 at Dechert. Officials at Latham and the other firms declined to say how many of the dismissals were in Washington.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022702751.html?hpid=topnews

[varkam]

1. Thank God I'm not graduating for a couple years.

:scared:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

4. A hint........

Specialize in tax law. Get your Master's in it, if you can.

That's the only area that's not contracting.

[varkam]

7. It's the public defender's office for me.

I'll never be short of work, that's for sure.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

10. Federally funded?

You won't be out of clients, that's for sure, and it's a great job. I did New Catholic Left law right out of school back in the mid-seventies. Revolutionary law, Daniel Berrigan called it. He was one of my first clients. I did my first bail hearing representing him and his brother after the got busted for demonstrating at the Pentagon.

But, will the bucks be there for your salary? Those programs have been whittled down terribly. Maybe with a legitimate President in place now, that will change.

Good luck. It's an admirable choice.

[varkam]

14. I don't think that the state office gets and federal bucks.

And yeah, I know very well that there's not a lot of cash to go around. Just a couple months ago the head public advocate in Kentucky filed suit because it's getting the point of unconstitutionality as public defenders are not able to provide the requisite level of representation (and how could you, with 300+ felony cases on your plate per year per attorney).

I think it's a worthwhile thing to do, and it's something that I feel driven for. Plus I have a wicked sense of humor.

And salary? Ha! I make more at my current job than I will starting out as a public defender. Kind of sad, when you think about it.

[Sanity Claws]

19. Bankruptcy law is also doing well

[barb162]

11. Think bankruptcy and/ or tax law. n/t

[varkam]

15. I thought about it, but then I got very bored.

:D

[barb162]

16. Tax law would be boring to me, but the tax lawyers I know always

have a lot of work and make a lot.

[varkam]

17. Oh I'm sure I'll always have work.

:rofl: There's always people out there committing crimes.

[CreekDog]

2. isn't this the group that works against environmental protections?

i might not be upset at this.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. It's a law firm

It represents a wide variety of clients. The firm itself doesn't actively campaign for or against any specific cause.

Roddy Hills, one of the founders, was my late husband's best friend. HIs wife, Carla Hills, was HUD Secretary under Gerald Ford.

It's always been a very conservative place. Big-money clients. Really big money.

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. Here are some partners in the firm:

Michael chertoff
Alice Fisher
Christopher Cox....yes, THAT C. Cox.
Dick Cheney's son-in-law, Phillip Perry.

Hmmm...5th largest law firm in the world.....wow.

Many people from the firm were picked to serve in Bush administrations.

so, yes, a firm that large cutting back is notable news.

[onenote]

23. latham employeee donations to Obama: $480,000 plus

latham employee donations to McCain: $80,000 plus

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. One is an old law school friend of mine

Been with them for more than twenty years.

He's suicidal.

[mackerel]

6. Social Security law always has work.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

8. A colleague of mine,

about twenty years ago, started specializing in elder law.

He's perfectly positioned now. Solo practitioner, too.

[No Elephants]

9. Laid off after twenty four years. Wow. Maybe they kept the lower paid people?

[barb162]

12. My company worked with them a lot.

I'm reading a lot about law firm layoffs these days across the country.

[FudaFuda]

13. For once, I'm happy to be a govt. lawyer.

Hope I get to remin one until the storm blows over, too.

[kedrys]

18. They also cut something like 250 staff

Their severance package is extremely generous, above market.

More telling is the fact that they're delaying the start dates of incoming first years and offering paid deferrals for those who opt to wait a year before going to work there.

February has been a bloodbath in the legal field, just like everywhere else. :(

[trof]

20. You prompted me to look up my son-in-law's firm.

Mintz Levin.
They seem to be doing well.
Looking for more office space in Manhattan.
I've been reading about huge layoffs at many law firms.

[IndianaGreen]

24. Uncle Sam is hiring attorneys and paralegals

They may not pay as much, but it is a job.

[Baby Snooks]

22. We'll bail them out next...

I'm surprised they haven't asked for a bailout. After all, how can we survive without attorneys?

Notice how the attorneys and their law firms who represent the crooks are never indicted?

The closest any attorneys came to being indicted was Enron and no doubt quite a few attorneys in the two law firms named in the Batson Report were among the "unindicted co-conspirators."

Both were accused of "legal malpractice" in the Batson Report. But both are very powerful and so of course the State Bar of Texas ignored the matter. The incoming president of the bar at the time was a partner at one of the two law firms. They do protect their own.