Legal News

Sonnenschein Lays Off 37 Lawyers, Plus 87 Others

By Dan Slater

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has laid off 124 employees, according to Above The Law. Firm chairman Elliott Portnoy confirmed the layoffs with Above The Law and said they break down thusly: 41 secretaries; 34 “other support staff;” 37 lawyers; and 12 “non-lawyer timekeepers such as paralegals.”

Of the 37 fired attorneys, six are partners, four are of counsel and 27 are associates, said Portnoy. The affected associates range from first-year to senior, with the reductions “spread pretty widely across the seniority ranges, from junior to senior,” Portnoy reportedly said. As for practice groups, he said that real estate and litigation were “most directly affected.” (In March, Chicago-based Sonnenschein rescinded offers for two summers and two first-years in its Charlotte, N.C., office.)

He added: “I talked to our people about steps that have been taken by firms that we compete with for clients and talent,” he explained. “Some have done it openly and transparently, and some have not. We were not going to attempt to do this [reduction in force] below the radar. We were going to do this as openly and transparently as we could. We would not attempt to pass this off as performance-based.”

So far, the last six months or so have not been pretty for a handful of firms. Others that have announced layoffs: Thelen Reid, Thacher Proffitt, Cadwalader and Clifford Chance.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on May 28, 2008 (boomark / email).