If times feel grim, Canadian lawyers, here’s a little perspective to file away as you fritter through another non-billable hour at work. At this point in time, exactly 12,410 people have been laid off by major law firms in the U.S. (4,836 lawyers and 7,574 staff). And to add to our southern counterparts’ recessionary misery is a handy, depressing little thing called the Layoff Tracker. Not only have the fine folks at Law Shucks been keeping track of layoffs, but they’ve been crunching numbers and publishing graphs to help us understand just how bad things really are (making our Hireback Chart look positively cheerful by comparison).
But The New York Times reminds us that behind every layoff is a very anxious, embittered boss who cringes at the thought of pressing send. At least that was the case for Hugh Verrier, chairman of global law firm and Wall Street mainstay White & Case, whose carefully composed line – “a reduction in the number of our partners commensurate with current and anticipated needs” – just didn’t take the sting out of the memo that sent another 200 lawyers packing. He has now closed offices in Bangkok, Dresden and Milan and laid off approximately 270 lawyers – bright-eyed associates and senior heavyweights alike. Where the layoff tracker will succeed in scaring the pants off you, the Times’ case study of White & Case will give you some good insight into how and why major U.S. firms are shrinking.