Declining Pound, Pay Disputes Spur Lawyer Exits at Clifford Chance

Magic Circle law firm Clifford Chance is losing partners and cutting associates as it grapples with the decline of the pound and disputes over lockstep pay.

Legal Week reports that four Clifford Chance litigation partners based in New York City are poised to jump to other firms. James Moyle is joining Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, while Warren Feldman, David Meister and John Carroll are in talks to join Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

According to the American Lawyer, reports indicate that continuing lockstep disputes and the decline of the pound against the U.S. dollar are to blame for the current problems.

The law firm has struggled to bridge a cultural gap between its lawyers overseas and in the United States since it merged with Rogers & Wells in 1999, the American Lawyer says. “The eat-what-you-kill mentality at Rogers & Wells, a firm with a prominent U.S. litigation practice, couldn't have been a worse fit with Clifford Chance's lockstep system,” the story says.

Only a few weeks ago, three antitrust and regulatory partners left Clifford Chance’s Washington, D.C., office to join Bingham McCutchen, the American Lawyer recounts. The law firm also recently announced the layoffs of 20 U.S. litigation and dispute resolution associates in its New York and Washington, D.C., offices.

Clifford Chance is not alone in experiencing problems. A recent survey found that nearly a quarter of the top 50 British law firms say layoffs are possible or likely in the current financial year.