Above the Law is reporting a slew of Big Law layoffs today. The firms include Dechert, Byan Cave, Goodwin Proctor, WolfBlock, Holland & Knight, Faegre and Benson, and DLA Piper. It seems like a number of firms avoided Grinch status, deferring layoffs until after holiday season. The jig is up, however. Once upon a time, a big firm had to be coy about layoffs - it didn't want to gain a reputation as an unstable workplace. But in a startling real-world example of social norm shifts, the stigma around layoffs appears to be crumbling.
Update: ATL now reports attorney layoffs at Cadwalader (London) and Epstein Becker. The WSJ law blog asks whether this might be the darkest day ever for big law firm layoffs and suggests that rumors of other layoffs are in the air.
Query whether these layoffs will have any material impact on the number of FAR forms received by the AALS during the next recruiting cycle.
It seems like a number of firms avoided Grinch status, deferring layoffs until after holiday season. The jig is up, however. Once upon a time, a big firm had to be coy about layoffs – it didn't want to gain a reputation as an unstable workplace. But in a startling real-world example of social norm shifts, the stigma around layoffs appears to be crumbling.