Stealth Layoff Tracker (COVID-19 2020) Forum

[Anonymous User]

Any of the other stealthed Goodwin associates having any luck on the job hunt? Things seem pretty bleak out there and no prospects at the moment.

Big law hiring is dead. Enjoy your severance and live off the state/government unemployment. Consider a pivot to the government as law firm hiring is weak.

It's unlikely that government hiring will be appreciably better. There's very little tax revenue coming in at any level right now. If we're entering a prolonged recession or even depression, that's likely to be the case for the indefinite future.

I have seen a plethora of government jobs.

I think it depends. State and local govts are probably hurting right now especially if they don't get help from the Federal gov't. But I would definitely focus on fed agencies, particularly those that got a lot of money. My old sub-agency received a lot of funding and they're hiring dozens if not hundreds of people in DC and across the country including attorneys.

My government agency (CA) announced internally that hiring is frozen for the foreseeable future, yet our job board still has plenty of postings, though most were posted pre-pandemic.

[Anonymous User]

Anon for obvious reasons.

Heard from a couple of folks who work there that Baker Botts is stealth-ing associates.

Would like more details on this

Bumping

Bump again, what offices/groups?

[Anonymous User]

Anon for obvious reasons.

Heard from a couple of folks who work there that Baker Botts is stealth-ing associates.

Any particular groups/offices?

Any more info on this?

[Anonymous User]

Bump again, what offices/groups?

At least one of the TX offices, junior/mid-level-ish range of seniority, corporate.

[Anonymous User]

Bump again, what offices/groups?

At least one of the TX offices, junior/mid-level-ish range of seniority, corporate.

I understand if you can't be more specific, but I would be interested in knowing which offices and how many people? BB's austerity measures over the last month are concerning.

[Anonymous User]

I understand if you can't be more specific, but I would be interested in knowing which offices and how many people? BB's austerity measures over the last month are concerning.

I literally don't know more than that. Sorry.

BB really isn't in a good place to be during this recession. It's a financial thing, but they were actually starting to dig themselves out of that whole before this whole thing. In HOU, a massive portion of their client base is straight E&P companies, and their bankruptcy practice is nothing like that of K&E or even V&E. On top of that, they were going through a strategic change to become a east-coast/west-coast firm, but now all the leadership's attention to be drawn back to HOU with this whole debacle.

If you're going to BB, yeah, you should be concerned. If you're merely concerned that firms of a similar profitability will take similar action, well probably, but there are very few firms that are positioned as badly as BB, so the action will probably not be quite as drastic.

[Anonymous User]

I understand if you can't be more specific, but I would be interested in knowing which offices and how many people? BB's austerity measures over the last month are concerning.

I literally don't know more than that. Sorry.

BB really isn't in a good place to be during this recession. It's a financial thing, but they were actually starting to dig themselves out of that whole before this whole thing. In HOU, a massive portion of their client base is straight E&P companies, and their bankruptcy practice is nothing like that of K&E or even V&E. On top of that, they were going through a strategic change to become a east-coast/west-coast firm, but now all the leadership's attention to be drawn back to HOU with this whole debacle.

If you're going to BB, yeah, you should be concerned. If you're merely concerned that firms of a similar profitability will take similar action, well probably, but there are very few firms that are positioned as badly as BB, so the action will probably not be quite as drastic.

Any insight on their bankruptcy group?

[Anonymous User]

I understand if you can't be more specific, but I would be interested in knowing which offices and how many people? BB's austerity measures over the last month are concerning.

I literally don't know more than that. Sorry.

BB really isn't in a good place to be during this recession. It's a financial thing, but they were actually starting to dig themselves out of that whole before this whole thing. In HOU, a massive portion of their client base is straight E&P companies, and their bankruptcy practice is nothing like that of K&E or even V&E. On top of that, they were going through a strategic change to become a east-coast/west-coast firm, but now all the leadership's attention to be drawn back to HOU with this whole debacle.

If you're going to BB, yeah, you should be concerned. If you're merely concerned that firms of a similar profitability will take similar action, well probably, but there are very few firms that are positioned as badly as BB, so the action will probably not be quite as drastic.

In what ways do you mean those going to BB should be worried; you don't think they'll lay off incoming associates or something drastic like that, do you?

[Anonymous User]

Anon because I don’t want people being able to track the source down:

My friend works in HR at Goodwin and she said that she thinks Goodwin laid off between 50-100 associates. She said that every year the firm lays off a handful (10-20) of associates a year after midyear reviews, but that this year it seems like it was significantly more.

[Anonymous User]

Anon because I don’t want people being able to track the source down:

My friend works in HR at Goodwin and she said that she thinks Goodwin laid off between 50-100 associates. She said that every year the firm lays off a handful (10-20) of associates a year after midyear reviews, but that this year it seems like it was significantly more.

Anon bc incoming SA. Thank you for sharing. By any chance did she give some insight into whether she thinks there will be another mass layoff vs. whether the firm has right-sized? Getting worried because the 2020 SA class seems unsustainably large.

[Anonymous User]

In what ways do you mean those going to BB should be worried; you don't think they'll lay off incoming associates or something drastic like that, do you?

If you mean rescission of offers, no, nothing quite drastic like that. Even a full-year deferral is out there. If you mean that there may not be much work once you get there and you would sit on your ass for a year before they lay you off at the one-year mark, yeah, that's in the cards though still not probable. At this point, their behavior really signals that they probably wouldn't even wait the full year. Things could unimaginably better by Sept./Jan./whenever they're starting. I'm not paying attention, but the possibility is in the cards. It's also probably in the cards for any non-top HOU firm with energy clients. It's just that BB has a specific profitability and Vault rank level that's makes people associate them with more the S&S of the world than the H&B, JW, or Porter Hedges of the world. My argument is that BB should be treated more like the latter three in this particular recession when it comes to financial desperation.

[Anonymous User]

In what ways do you mean those going to BB should be worried; you don't think they'll lay off incoming associates or something drastic like that, do you?

If you mean rescission of offers, no, nothing quite drastic like that. Even a full-year deferral is out there. If you mean that there may not be much work once you get there and you would sit on your ass for a year before they lay you off at the one-year mark, yeah, that's in the cards though still not probable. At this point, their behavior really signals that they probably wouldn't even wait the full year. Things could unimaginably better by Sept./Jan./whenever they're starting. I'm not paying attention, but the possibility is in the cards. It's also probably in the cards for any non-top HOU firm with energy clients. It's just that BB has a specific profitability and Vault rank level that's makes people associate them with more the S&S of the world than the H&B, JW, or Porter Hedges of the world. My argument is that BB should be treated more like the latter three in this particular recession when it comes to financial desperation.

Curious if you think this affects their non-energy-related practices. Anon because I'm an incoming lateral/SA/first-year.

[Anonymous User]

Honigman apparently laid off some associates; heard second hand so not sure if accurate.

[Anonymous User]

I understand if you can't be more specific, but I would be interested in knowing which offices and how many people? BB's austerity measures over the last month are concerning.

I literally don't know more than that. Sorry.

BB really isn't in a good place to be during this recession. It's a financial thing, but they were actually starting to dig themselves out of that whole before this whole thing. In HOU, a massive portion of their client base is straight E&P companies, and their bankruptcy practice is nothing like that of K&E or even V&E. On top of that, they were going through a strategic change to become a east-coast/west-coast firm, but now all the leadership's attention to be drawn back to HOU with this whole debacle.

If you're going to BB, yeah, you should be concerned. If you're merely concerned that firms of a similar profitability will take similar action, well probably, but there are very few firms that are positioned as badly as BB, so the action will probably not be quite as drastic.

Mentioning V&E's bankruptcy practice in the same sentence as K&E's offensive. I can't speak to what's going on at Baker Botts, but firms like Latham and Baker Botts have substantially less exposure to upstream than V&E so this post doesn't make a lot of sense. Outside of K&E, V&E probably has the biggest upstream practice/exposure in Houston so highly doubt they're going to keep to the no stealth layoffs. Partner distribution cuts that are too deep or for too long of a period will just allow K&E to use the booming restructuring practice to snap up more of their young corporate partners

[Anonymous User]

It is rumored that Davis Polk fired at least one first-year associate who did not win the h1b lottery...

[Anonymous User]

I heard a DLA let a couple associates go recently. I personally know a few that got laid off in CA but I heard NY offices as well. Corporate groups mostly.

Another group getting stealth laid off is H1B misses. Firms that used to transfer such associates to foreign offices before bringing them back on L-1 are just laying them off now. I am not sure how much of that is Covid-19 and how much of that is Trump v. Chinese H/L visas.

[whats an updog]

Anon because I don’t want people being able to track the source down:

My friend works in HR at Goodwin and she said that she thinks Goodwin laid off between 50-100 associates. She said that every year the firm lays off a handful (10-20) of associates a year after midyear reviews, but that this year it seems like it was significantly more.

thats gnarly

[Anonymous User]

Anon because I don’t want people being able to track the source down:

My friend works in HR at Goodwin and she said that she thinks Goodwin laid off between 50-100 associates. She said that every year the firm lays off a handful (10-20) of associates a year after midyear reviews, but that this year it seems like it was significantly more.

thats gnarly

Time to rebrand the firm: Badlose.

[objctnyrhnr]

I heard a DLA let a couple associates go recently. I personally know a few that got laid off in CA but I heard NY offices as well. Corporate groups mostly.

Another group getting stealth laid off is H1B misses. Firms that used to transfer such associates to foreign offices before bringing them back on L-1 are just laying them off now. I am not sure how much of that is Covid-19 and how much of that is Trump v. Chinese H/L visas.

I think it’s well known that dla regularly very gently stealths a few 2-3 years widely known to be subpar performers from larger offices as a matter of course, in good times and in bad. I’ve heard something like this through the grapevine a couple times. The thinking Is don’t hear about it on atl or whatever because the stealth is so gentle. I think they started this after the 2009 bloodbath, and perhaps it explains why dla US hasn’t needed to cut associate salaries to date (staying lean, etc). All of this being said, I’d bet many other firms do this as well. Id imagine that the key is to give the associates such a long/flexible runway that bad blood is minimal.

This is very different from what I’m hearing from Goodwin friends about how performers generally regarded as at least decent are suddenly hit with bad reviews and out the door...and further that this is happening in droves and correlating directly with the bad econ.

[Anonymous User]

Mofo.

[Anonymous User]

Re: MoFo
What office? Lit or Corp?

[Anonymous User]

Confirm multiple layoffs at Kramer Levin. No further details available atm.

[Anonymous User]

Can also confirm multiple layoffs at Cleary. We've always been an up or out firm, but I've heard about associates in the Class of 2016/2017 (and up) getting stealthed.

[Anonymous User]

Can also confirm multiple layoffs at Cleary. We've always been an up or out firm, but I've heard about associates in the Class of 2016/2017 (and up) getting stealthed.

Do you know their practice groups and reasons/pretexts being given? Any information on severence?

[JusticeSquee]

Anon because I don’t want people being able to track the source down:

My friend works in HR at Goodwin and she said that she thinks Goodwin laid off between 50-100 associates. She said that every year the firm lays off a handful (10-20) of associates a year after midyear reviews, but that this year it seems like it was significantly more.

thats gnarly

Time to rebrand the firm: Badlose.