Biglaw

Greenberg Traurig Offers Voluntary Buyouts With 'Enhanced' Severance

This is much better than layoffs.

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For the past seven months, the coronavirus crisis has ravaged the legal profession, leading to salary cuts, furloughs, and in some cases, layoffs. But some firms seem to have remained completely unscathed by the global economic turmoil that’s been caused by COVID-19.
Take Greenberg Traurig, a firm that brought in $1,641,790,000 in gross revenue last year, earning it 14th place in the latest Am Law 100 ranking, for example. Back in April, we reported that the firm had offered “a good deal of transparency about [its] financial position” and assured attorneys that there would be no layoffs. At that time, there had been no word of salary cuts at the firm, and to our knowledge, throughout the pandemic, no such cuts were made. The firm made it quite far without having to take any major cost-cutting measures, but sources have told us that GT has now decided to roll out a voluntary separation program for full-time staff.

An internal memo states that while the firm remains in a “strong financial position,” many “roles and responsibilities have inevitably shifted” due to the firm’s remote working environment, and that some employees had allegedly asked if Greenberg Traurig would offer a voluntary separation program so they could pursue “other professional, personal, or academic opportunities” outside of the firm. Ask and you shall apparently receive, GT employees. Eligible staff members for the separation program include legal assistants, administrative assistants, administrative clerks, file clerks, records clerks, and hospitality assistants. Here are the details of the plan’s “enhanced incentive offers” for employees to voluntarily leave the firm:

As noted above, eligible staff members will have until November 15 to decide if they want to take advantage of this program.

(Flip to the next page to see the full buyout memo from Greenberg Traurig.)

We reached out to Greenberg Traurig for comment on the firm’s buyout plan. Here is a statement we received from a firm spokesperson:

We are proud of the fact that our disciplined management, our balanced platform, our committed shareholders, putting our people first, and allowing us to solidly perform thus far in 2020, have allowed us to avoid any across-the-board layoffs or compensation reductions for our lawyers or staff at any levels this year, notwithstanding the pandemic. However, as we now look forward and plan for our future, and what our clients’ and lawyers’ needs are likely to be, we felt remote working has made this program sensible at this time. It is being offered to a majority of our US offices. 

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We wish all of the legal professionals at Greenberg Traurig who accept the buyout offer the best of luck should they seek new jobs in the legal industry.

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff, salary cut, or furlough announcement that we publish.

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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