Lots of lawyers getting terminated

Karen Sloan has a piece in the 16 March 09 NLJ titled: How Do Firms Lay Off Lawyers? Very Carefully , which includes the text:

Layoffs can tarnish a firm's reputation and hurt recruitment, though experts say that stigma is fading, given that firm layoffs are now widespread. That grim reality was on display during the week of Feb. 9 to 13, when more than 1,000 attorneys and staffers were given their walking papers from at least 10 firms.

Gerald Hathaway was quoted:

This [use of layoff criteria] is increasingly important because more attorneys than ever before are taking legal action against their former firms, Hathaway said.

"Ten years ago, associates wouldn't sue [law firms] because it hampered their employment prospects," he said. "We're seeing more of that now. It's a new phenomenon."

Indeed, Nixon Peabody; Dechert; and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom are among the major firms sued in recent months by fired associates.