Legal News

Morning Law-Firm Roundup: More Layoffs and an Arrest in Canada

By Ashby Jones

First things first, this morning. Let’s get you caught up on some law-firm news.

A Land of Law Layoffs: We like the lead written by Am Law Daily’s Zach Lowe so much that we’re just going to rip it off wholesale: “It’s beginning to seem like it would be more newsworthy to find a firm that isn’t laying off attorneys (either openly or by stealth).”

True, so true, Zach. The latest big firms to trim headcount: New York’s Proskauer Rose, which on Thursday announced it was laying off 25 administrative staff and 35 associates, and Dewey LeBoeuf, which confirmed to Above the Law that 12 lawyers were laid off on Thursday. In the last two weeks alone, we’ve had slashings at Reed Smith, White & Case, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, and several other Am Law 100 firms. At this point, we’d venture to guess that the bleeding will continue well into 2009.

Canada Dreier: UPDATE: The NYT City Room blog is reporting that the arrest — for criminal impersonation — took place on Tuesday (though there appears to be some confusion surrounding the actual arrest date, which, the Times reports, could have occurred as early as Nov. 30). ATL also broke the news last evening that prominent New York litigator Mark Dreier was arrested on Thursday in Toronto. According to ATL, the arrest appears to be “financial in nature with sources mentioning money laundering and misuse of escrow funds as possible charges.” Dreier is the founder and managing partner of Dreier LLP, former head of litigation for Fulbright & Jaworski’s New York office, and former litigation partner at Rosenman & Colin.

According to an update posted on ATL at 1:40 a.m. Friday morning (way to go, David!), the firm’s — how do you say? — cash poor. It may not be able to make its next payroll, on December 15. Dreier and the firm didn’t immediately respond to ATL’s request for comment.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on December 05, 2008 (boomark / email).