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118-Year-Old Law Firm Heller Ehrman Nears Its End; LawCrossing Aspires to Clean Up Recession Rubble
September 29, 2008
Pasadena, CA — The 118-year-old San Francisco-based law firm Heller Ehrman, which withstood both the 1906 earthquake and the Great Depression, could not endure the pressures of the present crumbling economy. Yesterday, Heller Chairman Matt Larrabee announced to the 500+ working lawyers of the firm that the firm’s dissolution is imminent, although a formal vote to dissolve would not take place until today. LawCrossing, the world’s leading legal job board, expressed deep concern over this development and announced a renewed drive to post more and more legal jobs in its database. “These are hard times for legal professionals at Heller Ehrman,” says Harrison Barnes, Esq., the founder and CEO of LawCrossing. “The legal job market is disintegrating, and law firms are finding it hard to keep their footing in the shaky economy.” It is interesting to note that, as recently as 2004, Heller ranked second on The American Lawyer magazine’s “A-list,” which ranks law firms on the basis of profitability, pro bono representation, associate satisfaction, and diversity ratings. But in recent years the firm had grappled with a variety of challenges, including the departures of numerous valued partners and the financial strains of trying to survive in an increasingly competitive legal industry. On the whole, however, the legal industry is hardly suffering from the current economic troubles. According to the new 2008 Survey of Law Firm Economics, for example, the average gross revenue per lawyer for the law firms responding to the survey has reached $430,483 per year, an increase of 4% over the prior year. The study also revealed that starting salaries for new law school graduates rose to an average of $85,000, a 3% increase over the prior year. “Heller Ehrman could not hold its ground in the face of increasing competition,” says Barnes. “This might happen to any law firm today, irrespective of its position in the industry. But all is not lost. The Survey of Law Firm Economics notes that compensation rates for legal professionals are actually at an all-time high. The real problem is that many legal professionals find it hard to search for active legal jobs. What is important, according to my experience as an attorney, is that one look for jobs in the right places.” LawCrossing scours legal job openings from virtually every law firm, government agency, employer career webpage, and legal job board in America. It is a pioneer in introducing new search features for finding legal jobs, and is the largest legal job board in the world. The site provides resources for law students, attorneys, and legal staff alike with active jobs totaling 140,000-plus legal jobs. LawCrossing constantly tracks the hiring needs of over 250,000 employers every day. It also reviews more than 10,000 websites per day in search of new legal job openings. LawCrossing provides instant access to a comprehensive pool of listings based on your particular area of interest. Unlike other job-search and career sites, LawCrossing weeds out spam and jobs outside one’s niche, allowing the job seeker to search efficiently and specifically. For more details, log on to www.lawcrossing.com. Contact: Mary Waldron, Editorial Coordinator LawCrossing 626-243-1885 maryw@lawcrossing.com About LawCrossing LawCrossing is an affiliate of EmploymentCrossing, a powerful and comprehensive organization dedicated to helping professionals find jobs that will enhance their careers. LawCrossing consolidates every legal job opening it can find in one convenient location. LawCrossing was ranked 72nd on the 2007 Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing companies in the US. The website also offers a seven-day free trial to new members.
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