Law Firms
Clifford Chance Loses Global Litigation Chief, Mulls More NY Lawyer Layoffs
Posted May 29, 2009, 09:11 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
The global chief of litigation for Clifford Chance has announced his resignation after the law firm’s decision to restructure its litigation and dispute resolution practice in the United States.
Mark Kirsch handed in his resignation yesterday, according to reports in Above the Law, the Lawyer and Legal Week. He has headed global litigation and dispute resolution for the firm since last year and for the New York office for the last five years. Juan Morillo will take over Kirsch’s U.S. role.
A firmwide memo posted on Above the Law discloses that Clifford Chance will review the positions of its U.S. litigation associates and their support staffers—and layoffs are expected. Sources tell both Above the Law and Legal Week that 29 associate positions are under review.
Under the U.S. litigation restructuring, the firm will focus on regulatory work, investigations and white-collar matters, antitrust, and commercial litigation and arbitration, with an emphasis on cross-border matters, the memo says.
Five other New York partners left Clifford Chance earlier this month. Four started their own litigation boutique and a fifth jumped to K&L Gates. In March, the firm laid off 24 New York transactional associates, and in February it announced a restructuring of its partnership.