Law Firms Learn the Hard Way that Layoff News is Likely to Leak
Law firms should assume firm-wide memos explaining layoffs will be leaked and write them with outside readers in mind, according to a public relations expert.
Karen Schwartzman, president of Polaris Public Relations in Boston, told the National Law Journal that “the rumor mill is fierce.” She said layoff memos should include information targeted to the media and clients, since the documents will likely be leaked.
Clifford Chance decided to go public with news of 20 associate layoffs earlier this month, but it was still a victim of an early leak. Its leaders spent a month developing a “carefully choreographed” plan on how break the news, the legal newspaper says. The firm planned individual meetings with associates, followed by group meetings and then the 3 p.m. release of a prepared statement for the media.
But news of the layoffs appeared a little after 2 p.m. on Above the Law, forcing Clifford Chance to release its statement a half hour early.
Despite a trend toward greater transparency by law firms, some are still engaging in “stealth layoffs,” legal consultant Peter Zeughauser told the NLJ. Often layoff news appears on blogs such as Above the Law, even as firm leaders refuse to confirm the information.
Clifford Chance spurned that route. John Christian, chairman of the firm’s personnel committee explained why. “No one wants to deliver the bad news, and no one wants to hear the bad news,” he told the National Law Journal. “But people will respect you for being straight with them.”
