Dechert Gives 13 Associates Layoff Notices

Firm offers attorneys the chance to transfer to other practice groups

Gina Passarella
The Legal Intelligencer
March 3, 2008
link

...
Dechert was the first Philadelphia firm to feel the pinch, originally giving the 13 associates until the close of business Tuesday to leave. No one was asked to leave Friday, the source said.

The firm has not disclosed the market breakdown in terms of which offices were affected by the announced layoffs or how many, if any, were laid off in Philadelphia, but only said that it was "U.S.-wide."

There were no layoffs prior to Friday's announcement, but some attorneys were shifted into other practice areas, the firm source said. The announced layoffs comprise less than 10 percent of the 167 attorneys listed in Dechert's finance and real estate practice, which includes mortgage finance, structured finance and securitization, investment, and mergers and acquisitions.

The attorneys who were originally asked to leave were offered three months severance, six months of paid medical benefits and transition placement support, the source said.

The possible departures come amid a record financial year for the firm with $836 million in gross revenue and more than $2.3 million in profits per equity partner.

Some in the industry pointed out that the 13 potential layoffs are relatively small in comparison with the size of the firm and said this doesn't speak to any broader problems at the firm.

Legal blog "Above the Law" has reported extensively on associate and staff layoffs across the country. The reports included associate layoffs at Thacher Proffitt, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft and Clifford Chance, mainly in the structured finance, real estate and capital markets practices of those firms. Friday, "Above the Law" reported on rumors of low morale at Dechert, questioning whether layoffs were imminent....