Law Firms
Hogan & Hartson Nudges 30 Associates Out the Door
Posted Jul 10, 2009 1:04 PM CST
By Molly McDonough
The beltway powerhouse Hogan & Hartson is letting go of 30 senior associates.
Performance and not enough opportunity for advancement are reasons the firm cited when confirming reports posted on Above the Law that associates have been counseled to take three to four months to look for employment elsewhere.
ATL notes that the firm doesn't consider the elimination of these 30 positions layoffs.
Rather, the firm tells the legal tabloid that "when senior associates are meeting our basic performance standards but are not progressing toward advancement to partnership, they are counseled to pursue other opportunities (with the firm's help to the extent we can) if there isn't a demonstrated need for them to continue."
ATL calls these nudges out the door "forced attrition."
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Comments
B. McLeod
Jul 10, 2009 2:17 PM CST
Not layoffs? So they now have 30 openings then? (Mail away, castaways!!!)
These guys are almost as fun as the ten firms that didn’t “feel the need to market themselves.” (That smoky smell is from burning trousers).
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Glad I'm Not at H&H
Jul 10, 2009 5:49 PM CST
What a low-class move by H&H. They send 30 people packing at once but they don’t have the honesty to call it a layoff. Instead, they run down the people they are letting go by saying it is “performance related.” That last bit about a lack of “demonstrated need for them to continue” says it all. It’s a layoff just like the rest of BigLaw. But H&H can’t admit it.
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Too Old For This
Jul 12, 2009 7:56 AM CST
It isn’t a layoff. A layoff means the positions are still on the org chart but aren’t being filled because there would be nothing for an incumbent to do. This is just good old “up or out”. And since H&H is unlikely to have anything for anyone else in these slots to do, few if any of the juniors will be moved up, and the “up or out” will trickle down.
Layoffs are temporary; this is a permanent reduction in force.
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Charis P
Jul 13, 2009 12:55 PM CST
30 out of 140 senior associates doesn’t seem out of line with annual “up or out” terminations.
Don’t forget H&H was also the firm to offer generous buyout options for staff in lieu of layoffs earlier this year. I think the firm deserves the benefit of the doubt regarding how it charaterized these terminations.
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