According to new Labor Department data released on Friday, the U.S. legal services industry experienced a loss of 600 jobs in March, marking the first monthly decline in employment since September. The preliminary seasonally adjusted data revealed 1,180,900 legal sector jobs in the previous month, encompassing lawyers, paralegals, and other legal professionals.
Despite this decline, the U.S. economy added jobs across various industries in March, contributing to a decrease in the unemployment rate to 3.5%. The tightness of the labor market could result in the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates again next month. Since hitting a record high in July, legal employment has dropped by 7,000 jobs, with U.S. law firms increasing their workforce in 2021 and 2022 to accommodate the unusually high demand for legal advice on corporate transactions and other legal matters.
Although the number of jobs in the U.S. legal sector experienced a decline in August and September, it has remained relatively stable or slightly increased month-over-month since then.
In the same period, several prominent U.S. law firms, including Cooley, Goodwin Procter, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, and Shearman & Sterling, have let go of lawyers and staff due to a less active M&A landscape and declining demand. This week, Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, a law firm based in Silicon Valley, announced that it would reduce its U.S. attorneys, paralegals, and staff by 10%.
Kirkland & Ellis, a law firm based in Chicago, also trimmed an undisclosed number of attorney jobs this week. However, a spokesperson stated that the move was "performance-based" rather than layoffs. Firms such as Davis Wright Tremaine and Perkins Coie have also laid off business professionals.
