Friday, October 30, 2009

Valley Layoff Watch: Happy Holidays Edition

We are foregoing today's open thread, as we assume most of you are (hopefully) not working. How about some bad news instead?

Rumor has it that our old friends at Jones Vargas just laid off an unknown number of attorneys from their transactional/real estate group. These guys have wonderful timing, as evidenced by their late rescission of summer associate offers last March and this latest "Happy Holidays" round of layoffs.

Apparently, JV's Reno office is doing fine, as they recently announced the addition of former federal district court judge and current republican candidate for governor, Brian Sandoval.

If you're feeling a bit too upbeat today, head on over to the Las Vegas Business Press where you'll find an interview with JV's President, Joe Brown, and Lionel Sawyer's Managing Partner, Paul Hejmanowski, about how things are going in our market. You'll be reaching for the antacid in no time. Happy Nevada Day!

(Thanks, tipster!)

24 comments:

  1. On the bright side, those summer associates are probably glad their offers were rescinded so they could (hopefully) end up somewhere else.

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  2. Lewis and Roca extended offers to all 5 of their summer associates this year.

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  3. Apparently L&R has a little more foresight...

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  4. I heard Lionel Sawyer did some layoffs ... can anyone confirm?

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  5. hmm... JV hires former Fed. Judge about to mount a state-wide (perhaps national) campaign. JV also lays off a number of lawyers in Vegas.

    Coincidence?

    I bet the mat works out like this:

    Sandoval salary
    + Campaign "contributions"
    ------------------------
    Vegas lawyers' salaries

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  6. Don't think there were layoffs at LSC, just haven't replaced most people who have left voluntarily

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  7. As for "Happy Holidays" layoffs, it's not like they did it on Christmas Eve. There is never a good time to lay someone off so no matter when it was done, someone would be saying "I can't believe they did it on _____" (fill in the blank)

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  8. I hear Lewis & Roca took away their associate bonus program this year so they can't be doing that well.

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  9. L & R only hired 2 of their summer associates

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  10. L&R had significant pay cuts as well. Starting salary from 120K to 105K...I think.

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  11. Hiring freeze at Holland & Hart. A few wispers about possible layoffs coming in transactional department, but not sure.

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  12. The fall can be a good time to prune the trees and shrubs a bit. Some firms clip a little here or there, others go "brazilian" with a big "rip" and an "ouch."

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  13. There's no hiring freeze at H&H. They had two first years start last month.

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  14. Any other rumors of layoffs at other firms? How are firms doing over all? Are associates keeping busy, or are you worried about getting laid off?

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  15. Do the editors of this blog live in an alternative universe where the economy is flourishing? Your naivete astonishes me...a law firm is just another business, not a social service organization. And what is this nonsense about "just in time for the holidays? It's f---ing November 1!!! I guess all lay-offs are bad, even if it damages the underlying business operation? What a bunch of dilletantes....

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  16. The practice of law is a business; however, to the extent a blog can deter a firm from laying associates off through negative exposure, I say great.

    At the end of the day, a law firm is going to do what it's gonna do - business is business. But in an industry where status is as important as it is in the legal field, negative publicity may force firms to consider alternatives prior to eliminating someone's livelihood to keep the partners' profits up.

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  17. 6:44

    "your naivete astonishes me"..."What a bunch of dilletantes"

    Big words...You're a tool.

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  18. L&R has not had any pay cuts or gotten rid of their associate bonus program. Fact.

    JV is poorly managed. Fact.

    LSC is falling off the face of the planet. Fact.

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  19. I worked at JV for a couple of years and think that it may be one of the worst firms on the planet. I am honestly surprised that it has lasted this long.

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  20. Anonymous @ 10:21 P.M. is Darren Lemieux. Fact.

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  21. 4:35 is Brian Sandavol. Fact.

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  22. 8:55 is Tony Sanchez. Fact.

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  23. Anonymous @ 9:53 and 9:54 P.M. is also Darren Lemieux. Fact.

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  24. Wow. Who's this "Darren" numb nuts dude?

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