Download App | FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
 Upload Your Resume   Employers / Post Jobs 

Press Room

  1. Legal Jobs
  2. press room
More Job Cuts at Various Law Firms; LawCrossing Adds 12,000-Plus Legal Jobs in the Last Week
November 07, 2008
Pasadena, CA — With more and more law firms tightening their belts, the legal job market has become one of the worst hit sectors in the last few months. Despite innumerable job cuts, LawCrossing has continually added thousands of new legal jobs every day. The legal job board added more than 12,000 new legal job openings in the last week, totaling its job count to 141,000.

''While the number of jobs available in the market is declining on a daily basis, there are thousands of opportunities if you know where to look. Finding those opportunities is what LawCrossing does,'' says Harrison Barnes, CEO and founder of LawCrossing.

According to the US Department of Labor, September saw more losses in the legal sector, making it the fifth straight month of losses for the profession. The hardest hit legal practice areas include finance, real estate, and corporate mergers and acquisitions. ''The legal market is beginning to slow quite dramatically. A large number of law firms have begun layoffs and there are no signs that the situation will improve anytime soon,'' adds Barnes.

The latest law firm to suffer a setback has been tax and finance boutique firm, McKee Nelson, which gave pink slips to 17 of its associates. The firm cited its declining structuring mortgage-backed and asset-backed securitizations practice as a reason for the cutbacks. Another law firm to suffer massive credit crunch is Thelen LLP. The San Francisco-based law firm recently announced its dissolution, stranding around 400 attorneys. Luckily, it seems that some of Thelen's 400 attorneys will find a home at Nixon Peabody. Thelen has been second law firm to implode after Heller Ehrman in recent times.

Chicago has been one of the most affected cities in the nation. Chicago-based Bell Boyd & Lloyd recently cut its staff by 10 associates. Jenner & Block, another Chicago law firm, asked 10 of its partners to step down. Katten Muchin Rosenman and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, both Chicago firms, laid off more than 20 attorneys each. ''The sagging economy has affected the recent graduates and law students too,'' adds Barnes. Law firms throughout the country are scaling back their summer associate programs, leaving those in law school apprehensive about where to apply.

Meanwhile, LawCrossing has geared up its research to support the needs of thousands of legal professionals in this downturn. LawCrossing visits every job board, every law firm website, and every corporate website it can find. ''I started this company in 2001, because I was trying to help corporate attorneys find positions they could not get through traditional means,'' says Barnes.

The following is the current break-up of job listings on LawCrossing: ''At many major Wall Street firms, over 70% of the associates are members of LawCrossing. Because LawCrossing is not available to the public, we can offer more jobs, more personalized resources, and an overall higher success rate for our members,'' says Barnes.

For more information on LawCrossing, please visit www.lawcrossing.com.

Contact:
Mary Wilson, Editorial Coordinator
LawCrossing
626-243-1821
mary@employmentcrossing.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.
Back to press room