96 Lawyers Laid Off at Cadwalader

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is laying off 96 lawyers, 90 of them in the firm’s real estate and securitization practices, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports.

The cuts are not confined to the associate ranks. The number of layoffs appears to be the highest in the current economic cycle, according to Above the Law, which has been reporting layoff rumors at the firm.

The cuts are in addition to 35 associates laid off in January.

Most of the lawyers affected are in London, New York and Charlotte, the firm's chairman, Chris White, told Law Blog.

White said the firm’s real-estate finance and securitization practices had grown rapidly as companies used mortgage-backed securities to finance leveraged buyouts. One of them was the purchase of Equity Office Properties by the Blackstone Group, an alternative asset manager. “It was a lot like junk bonds becoming the instrument of choice in the late ’80s and early ’90s,” he told the Law Blog. Demand for this kind of legal work has contracted along with the market for such securities, he explained.

Laid-off lawyers will receive severance pay through the end of the year.

Subsequent coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "Job Hunt Could be Tough for Laid-Off Cadwalader Lawyers"

Updated at 5:09 p.m. July 31 to include link to subsequent coverage.