Biglaw Firm Lays Off Attorneys To Ensure The Firm’s ‘Continued Success’
But the firm also announced an end to COVID salary cuts...
The Biglaw firm of Katten Muchin really went with the good news/bad news approach to their COVID-19 austerity measures.
In April, Katten Muchin put all of its employees’ salaries on the chopping block while furloughing others, including business administration professionals and staff attorneys. Then in June, some of those furloughs became permanent, but — at the time — attorneys were left unscathed. Spoiler alert: attorneys have now been laid off.
According to the firm, they “made the difficult decision to separate from a limited number of our attorneys and from some business professionals who have been on furlough,” though the exact number of impacted attorneys and other professionals is unknown.
In a statement to Law.com, the firm said the layoffs were necessary to ensure the firm’s continued success:
“We do not take lightly the difficult decisions we have made,” the firm said in a statement. “We will be parting ways with wonderful colleagues whom we will miss. To position Katten for continued success, however, we must be vigilant to align our business with the challenges and opportunities presented by the current and future environments.”
Biglaw truly is a dog-eat-dog world.
But, for those still lucky enough to have work at the firm, there’s even more good news. The salary cuts will end as of December 1st, and attorneys will receive back pay as well.
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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).
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).
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