As of March 31, 2009, there have been over 9,946 people laid off by major law firms (4,046 lawyers / 5,905 staff) since January 1, 2008. For the first quarter of 2009, 7,999 (3,149 lawyers, 4,850 staff), 3,677 in March alone (1,334 attorneys, 2,343 staff).
Here is Bloomberg article ‘Medieval’ U.S. Law Firm Pay Structure Buckles’,
“In the current economic crisis, we see the final demise of the medieval guild in the American legal profession,” said Joel Henning, a law firm consultant at Hildebrandt International Inc.
Law firms have operated for decades with associate pay structures that don’t reward performance, Henning said. “One of the best things firms are doing is breaking the ridiculous lockstep structure of associate compensation,” Henning said. ‘There is no other profession that operates that way.’ ”
And you people thought only teachers, gov’t employees got a free ride.
And here are SHOCKING (lies) notes that prosecutors break the law and hide evidence (damn liberal lies from Bloomberg media). Prosecutors are not lawyers, they are the salt of the earth.
