Layoffs Archives - Home Safety Tech Pros

59 partners leave A&O Shearman outside Asia since decision to trim 10% of equity partnership

homesafetytechpros — Fri, 02 May 2025 06:44:17 +0000

Layoffs

59 partners leave A&O Shearman outside Asia since decision to trim 10% of equity partnership

April 28, 2025, 3:19 pm CDT

Twenty-five U.S. partners are among the 59 partners who left A&O Shearman since its decision last year to trim 10% of its global equity partnership. (Image from Shutterstock)

Twenty-five U.S. partners are among the 59 partners who left A&O Shearman since its decision last year to trim 10% of its global equity partnership, according to a count by Law.com.

The count does not include 15 partners who left A&O Shearman in Asia, as previously reported by Law.com. Butit does include partners who left in the United States, London, Europe, Africa and Australia.

A&O Shearman said last year the partner cuts were “a difficult but necessary step forward” following the merger between Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling. About 45 partners who left joined other law firms.

A&O Shearman said it currently has around 800 partners worldwide, which is about the same number that it had when it announced the cuts. It is unclear why the current number isn’t lower, according to Law.com.

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Trump admin swiftly rebuked by appeals court over layoffs

homesafetytechpros — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 10:19:32 +0000

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025 (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).

The Trump administration on Friday implored a federal court of appeals to allow administrative agencies to go forward with controversial plans for massive layoffs of the federal workforce. Moving with a quickness, the court shut that avenue down.

In a 16-page filing with the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the U.S. Department of Justice requested emergency relief in the form of an immediate administrative stay — as well as a broader stay pending appeal of the underlying case — that would overturn the nationwide injunction issued by a Baltimore district court on March 13.

“The district court’s sweeping order compelling the reinstatement of thousands of terminated employees at eighteen different federal agencies is legally indefensible and irreparably harms the federal government every day that it remains in effect,” the reply reads. “[T]his Court should enter a stay pending appeal and an immediate administrative stay.”

By the end of the day, however, the clerk of the court — on behalf of a three-judge panel — issued a terse order that rejected the government’s ask with zero analysis of the arguments.

The two-sentence decision did offer a procedural explanation: the district court overseeing the matter currently has a hearing scheduled for March 26 where the judge intends to “promptly grant or deny preliminary injunctive relief thereafter.”

In the case, U.S. District Judge James Kelleher Bredar, a Barack Obama appointee, ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies named in the lawsuit to reinstate probationary employees fired since Jan. 20. Such employees were ordered to be rehired by March 17.

The order further prohibits the government from additional layoffs that do not meet statutory standards. In real terms, in order to perform so-called “reductions in force,” the government must show such employees have a history of poor conduct or performance.

More Law&Crime coverage: ‘Ensure compliance with obligations’: Air Force members press another federal court to issue an additional restraining order blocking Trump’s transgender military ban

In its reply brief, the government essayed an iteration of an increasingly used argument against judicial review. The Trump administration has, in both public statements and various court filings in multiple cases, inveighed against the power of district judges to issue nationwide injunctions against the executive branch. In the present case, DOJ lawyers slightly modified their opprobrium to account for Bredar’s self-imposed deadline of March 27. On that date, the court will consider whether to extend or cancel the restraining order.

“This Court should be exceptionally wary of a jurisdictional ruling that would permit every district judge in this Circuit to bind the Executive Branch for at least fourteen days before the government can even begin asking an appellate court for relief,” the DOJ told the trio of judges.

While the panel did not appear moved by those time-focused arguments, Circuit Judge Allison Jones Rushing, a Trump appointee, did offer some more fundamental hope for the government on the nationwide injunction argument — at least in this case.

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In a concurrence, she said the district court improperly determined the government broke federal law and “lost sight of who the Plaintiffs are and what injury they claim when it concluded a nationwide injunction was warranted.”

To hear Rushing tell it, this case poses a question where some states claim an injury while several others actively reject such an injury exists. The district court, on the other hand, fashioned relief that purports to vindicate the rights of the citizens for each of the 50 states. The jurist suggests that was a bridge too far.

“I write separately to echo the growing concerns over district courts issuing nationwide injunctions to order redress for those who have not sought it,” Rushing’s concurrence reads. “The district court here required numerous federal agencies to reinstate fired probationary workers across all 50 States. It ordered relief because Plaintiffs — which are 19 States and the District of Columbia — asserted an injury stemming from the federal government’s failure to notify the States of its intent to fire probationary employees within their territory. But the district court extended its injunction to cover non-plaintiff States.”

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Judge suspended without pay after indictment for alleged fake layoffs

homesafetytechpros — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 07:29:16 +0000

Judiciary

Judge suspended without pay after indictment for alleged fake layoffs

By Debra Cassens Weiss

October 15, 2024, 9:10 am CDT

A common pleas judge in York County, Pennsylvania, has been suspended without pay following his indictment for allegedly urging four law firm employees to collect unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to work from home. (Image from Shutterstock)

The Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline suspended 61-year-old Judge Steven Stambaugh of Pennsylvania from the bench Oct. 9, report Law360 and the York Dispatch.

The Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania sought Stambaugh’s suspension earlier that day, citing a 31-count indictment alleging mail and wire fraud, witness tampering and obstruction of justice, according to an Oct. 9 press release that included the petition and indictment. The U.S. Department of Justice summarized the allegations in an Oct. 8 press release.

Stambaugh began service as a judge in January 2022.

The Oct. 8 indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, says beginning in March 2020, Stambaugh urged his employees to collect unemployment benefits. He allegedly promised to make up the difference between the benefits and their usual pay. The benefit payment was expanded during the pandemic.

The employees were instructed to falsely say they had been laid off in March 2020 and later to file false certifications that they did not work during preceding weeks, the indictment says.

Stambaugh’s alleged aim was to “unjustly enrich himself by using government funds to pay the employees of Stambaugh Law,” according to the indictment.

Stambaugh is also accused of omitting information about the ostensible layoffs in applications for government loans and loan forgiveness during the pandemic.

The indictment also alleges that Stambaugh tried to persuade an employee to state that any work that he performed for the firm was voluntary, if he was questioned by federal investigators. He also asked the employee to meet with him in advance of grand jury testimony to ensure that they were “on the same page,” according to the indictment. Those actions allegedly happened from April 2021 through November 2022.

Jerry Russo, Stambaugh’s lawyer, told the York Dispatch after the indictment that he and his client were evaluating the charges.

“We’re doing our own investigation of the facts,” Russo said.

Stambaugh did not immediately respond to a request for comment submitted through his firm website. Russo did not immediately comment when the ABA Journal reached him by phone.

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Fourth BigLaw firm closes office in China

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 15:38:47 +0000

Law Firms

Fourth BigLaw firm closes office in China

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 6, 2024, 8:16 am CST

Perkins Coie is closing its Shanghai office while emphasizing that it remains committed to its China practice and clients. (Image from Shutterstock)

Perkins Coie is closing its Shanghai office while emphasizing that it remains committed to its China practice and clients.

Perkins Coie still has a Beijing office that opened in 2002 and a China intellectual property agency that opened in 2019, report Law360 and Law.com. Law.com also mentions a Taipei, Taiwan, office that Perkins Coie opened in 2011.

The Shanghai office shutdown affects two lawyers and two patent consultants, the articles report. Three other Perkins Coie partners are connected to the Shanghai office, but they primarily work in the United States.

Perkins Coie is the fourth law firm to announce an office closure in China within the last eight months, according to Law.com. Other firms that recently closed offices in mainland China are Proskauer Rose, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, and Latham & Watkins.

“The move comes amid a flurry of movement among BigLaw firms in China,” Law360 reports, “with the majority of those firms closing offices or conducting layoffs and a handful adding new offices as the country faces an ongoing economic slump and a downturn in mergers and acquisitions activity.”

Linklaters laid off 30 lawyers in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong in September. Kirkland & Ellis reportedly laid off nine lawyers in those same locations, according to a report yesterday. Kirkland & Ellis refused to confirm or deny the report in a statement issued to Law360.

“However, we would note that our Asia capital markets team, with eight partners and over 30 fee earners, continues to be one of the largest in the region,” the Kirkland & Ellis statement said.

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BigLaw associates ‘have never had it better;’ they are working fewer hours, survey says, and making more money

homesafetytechpros — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 02:42:23 +0000

Associates

BigLaw associates ‘have never had it better;’ they are working fewer hours, survey says, and making more money

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 1, 2024, 12:56 pm CST

Lawyer head count is growing, while productivity is declining, according to a year-end survey of more than 130 larger law firms released this week by Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group. (Image from Shutterstock)

Lawyer head count is growing, while productivity is declining, according to a year-end survey of more than 130 larger law firms released this week by Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group.

The survey showed that the number of lawyers is up 2.8% for 2023, while productivity is down 2.1% for 2023, which amounts to 1,542 billable hours per lawyer for the year, according to a survey summary provided by Wells Fargo.

A Big Law Business column from Bloomberg Law emphasized the findings.

“Associates have never had it better than they do right now,” wrote Big Law Business columnist Roy Strom. “BigLaw associates have never logged fewer hours and never brought home bigger paychecks. Who doesn’t like working less and getting paid more?”

Many BigLaw firms increased associate pay in late 2023. Paychecks typically range from $225,000 for the class of 2023 to $435,000 for the most senior associates—and that doesn’t include bonuses.

The Wells Fargo survey gathered information from more than 130 firms, including 70 Am Law 100 firms (representing the nation’s top 100 grossing firms) and 35 Second Hundred firms (ranked 101 to 200 by revenue). The remainder were regional firms.

Strom looked at information provided by firms in the Am Law 100.

“Lawyers at those top firms billed an average of 1,551 hours last year,” Strom wrote. “That’s down from an all-time peak in 2021 of 1,683 hours, Wells Fargo data show. It might not sound like much. It works out to about 2.5 hours of extra time per week. Hit the Peloton, go see a movie, give yourself a little treat.”

Owen Burman, managing director of Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group, told Strom that the decline in productivity didn’t lead to a large number of layoffs because of increased billing rates.

Burman told Law360 that the outlook for firms in 2024 is “pretty positive” at this point. He cited increases in billing rates and demand and noted that firms have a lot of work in progress.

Other publications covering the survey include Law.com, Reuters and another Bloomberg Law story.

Wells Fargo also found, regarding all the firms surveyed, that:

• Standard billing rates increased 8.3% in 2023.

• Revenues increased 6% in 2023, double the 2022 growth rate of 3%.

• Net income increased 5.9% in 2023, compared to a 3.1% decrease in 2022.

• Profits per equity partner increased by 4.9% in 2023.

• Expense growth eased to 6% in 2023, down from double digit growth posted in the first nine months of 2022.

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