Bankrtupcy Law
Associates Find Opportunities in Shift to Bankruptcy Work
Posted Jan 26, 2009, 08:33 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Many law firms are killing two birds with one stone by shifting associates to bankruptcy work.
The moves help firms bulk up in a practice area during economic times in which bankruptcies are expected to provide more work, the New York Times reports. And they provide opportunities for associates who find themselves with little work to do in other practice areas, according to law firm consultant Bradford Hildebrandt. “Frankly they’re trying to avoid layoffs,” he told the Times.
“At some firms, seasoned bankruptcy partners hold seminars and host brown bag lunches to introduce Chapter 11 proceedings to associates more accustomed to carefully planned mergers than to corporate fire sales,” the New York Times reports. “Some firms have poached bankruptcy experts from rivals in a bid to bolster business and to bring in a source of knowledge for lawyers new to dark times."
Among the firms shifting associates to restructuring work are Shearman & Sterling and Kirkland & Ellis. Besides helping preserve jobs in the short-term, switching associates to bankruptcy work can also give the young lawyers additional experience that will help them become corporate advisers in the future, lawyers told the Times.
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