Clifford Chance Lays Off Six Associates

Clifford Chance has dismissed six structured finance associates after concluding the work they once did for credit rating agency Standard & Poor's wasn’t likely to return amid the real-estate slowdown.

The associates reviewed documentation to rate mortgage-backed securities, the New York Law Journal reports. One of the fired associates told the legal newspaper they were offered three months of severance pay, but no bonus.

John Christian, who oversees the U.S. personnel committee for Clifford Chance, said the firm decided not to reassign the associates to other work because of their seniority.