The Wall Street Journal reports that "more than 3,000 lawyers have been laid off in the first three months of 2009," at large law firms in the United States. The New York Times reports that on large New York law firm is offering its associates one-third of their base salary not to come to work and to take a year off.

For up-and-coming lawyers, these are my thoughts:

  1. Big-firm practices are here to stay. The fortunes of individual firms will evolve, but the practice style will continue for the foreseeable future. If they fit your skill set and expectations, persist.
  2. If you have a genuine affinity for a practice area (a substantive area of law, not to be confused with a practice style), consider employers other than big firms that historically hired lots of associates.
  3. If you've previously worked mostly in one industry or business activity (such as securitization deals), consider how these skills or experience can be carried over to other industries or activities; the question is about portability.
  4. I'm extremely skeptical of lawyers who suddenly –today– discover an interest in moving in-house or to another practice style. Practicing in-house or for a non-profit demands a skill set as particular as big-firm practice. Experience earned at a big firm may be a plus, or it may not. A transition should be carefully thought out and implemented carefully; it should not be dictated by immediate or feared layoff announcements. (If a layoff is announced tomorrow, to know whom to call and where to send a résumé, I'd turn first to trustworthy partners and law firms encountered in past work.)
  5. All lawyers, everywhere and always, have an interest in developing their skills, including the skill of self-presentation. This is especially true in a downturn.

I'm still waiting for reporting on law firm partners whose practice, built up painstakingly over years, has been wiped out by the economic downturn. I suspect that these will be the real casualties.