Legal News

Cooley Cuts Deeply, Slashes 52 Lawyers From Payroll

By Ashby Jones

Times are changing: It’s a new year, we’ve got a new president in the Oval Office, and the Arizona Cardinals are Super Bowl bound.

But on the law-firm front, 2009 is starting out just where 2008 left off. The latest: Cooley Godward Kronish announced today sizeable layoffs – 52 lawyers and 62 staff are getting pink slips. Click here for coverage from Above the Law.

The news came via an internal memorandum, from firm CEO Joe Conroy. “Given the continued slowdown we have experienced in pockets of the firm over the last five months and the forecast for continuing global turmoil in 2009, the Executive and Management Committees concluded that a reduction is necessary at the time.”

The firm, which traces its roots to the Bay Area but has sizeable offices in New York and the Washington, D.C. area, didn’t reveal which offices would be hit the hardes.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on January 21, 2009 (boomark / email).