10,000 UK Lawyers Could Lose Jobs Within 2 Years; '09 is 'Worst Year Ever,' Recruiter Says
In another signpost of the sea change that seems to be occurring in the legal profession, a major United Kingdom newspaper is predicting that more than 10,000 lawyers there could lose their jobs over the next two years.
If so, that figure likely would include more than 1 in 10 of the nation’s 83,000 privately employed solicitors, reports the London Times.
After shedding 16,700 jobs in 2008, the legal sector in the U.K. probably will lose even more positions in 2009 as law partnerships cope with the fiercest legal business slump in decades, the newspaper predicts, based on information provided by recruiters, consultants and senior partners at law firms.
The total number of legal industry positions was 296,500 in 2007, dropping to 279,800 in 2008, the newspaper reports.
“It’s the worst year ever, by some margin,” founding partner Nick Root of the Taylor Root recruiting firm says of the current legal market. “Those people who are being let go will not get another job.”
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Cravath Will Pay New Associates $80K to Stay Away for a Year”
Globe and Mail: “London layoffs cast a long shadow”
Updated on June 16 to link to subsequent Globe and Mail article.
