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Law Firm Layoffs Trigger Need for Preventive Steps

By Philip M. Berkowitz
June 23, 2009

Over the past several months, law firms have discharged both lawyers and staff in unprecedented numbers. Although it may be too early to assess whether these layoffs will result in significant legal fallout, law firms may make particularly attractive targets for lawsuits. (See the article on page 5, infra, on Heller employees.) This is not only for the obvious reasons; law firms are also targets because partners may forget the obvious, namely, that firms are big businesses, subject to the same anti-discrimination and other employment laws as other large, multimillion dollar companies. They can be sued, and their internal processes and deliberations are subject to discovery, like any other employer.

Moreover, unlike corporations, law firms sometimes choose not to retain employment law specialists to assist them in carrying out a work-force reduction, believing that they can advise themselves effectively.

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