Legal downturn hits Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson - Houston Business Journal:

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After holding out as long as it could, the Charlottee law firm laid off six lawyers and a numbef of staffers in a move that managing partnerd Robert Griffin sayswas “very painful.” A numbedr of competitor firms have laid off lawyers and employees over the past But Griffin says his firm had hopede to avoid doing the same. “Wer had been very hopeful that things would turn around a littlw quicker and that steps like that would notbe necessary,” he “But it just got to where (the slowdown) had continueds for so long that we couldn’r reasonably foresee the need for as many people as we had withib a reasonable period of Griffin notes the firm is now operating with 127 the same number it had a year ago.
The six lawyerss laid off were associatesand “otf counsel,” or lawyers who are not associates or partners and practiced with the firm on an alternate basis. The reductionz took place in a variety of practicer groups and were the first inthe firm’es history, he says. Griffin says Robinson Bradshaw laid off fewetr than a dozen staffers as well and is workingv to determine the appropriate ratio of administrativse employeesto lawyers. According to legal tabloid LawShucksx , which tracks the numberr of layoffs in the industry, 10,550 peopls have been laid off by law firmx nationwide so far this year.
The industry’s worsrt day so far was Marcuh 9, according to the site, as three majoe firms laid off737 employees. Those firmse include , which gained a large Charlotte presencr last year when it purchased locallybased . The recors cutbacks have rippled throughh Charlotte as a number of national and regional firm have tightenedtheir belts, trying to match theier expenses with a smaller revenue stream. “It just shows that no one’s Jay Perry, a lega l recruiter, says of Robinson Bradshaw’s Even in a dismal legal market, however, managing partnere are hopeful the worst maybe over, accordinfg to a recent survey by consultinbg firm .
The firm’s managing-partnetr confidence index saysabout two-thirds of the managinb partners surveyed believe the economy is the same or bette r than it was six months ago. And 59% said they anticipate a stable or improving economy over the nextsix However, few leaders were as optimistic aboutr their own firms’ financial outlook. Most managingt partners expect no growth in profit over the next with 95% citing a lack of demand or billable hourss as the main problem.
Another key factor cited by 62% of the managingy partners or chairmen: Clients are putting pressurre on law firms to provide them with Asa result, 38% of the respondentes said they expect to make cuts in theid associate ranks over the next 12 months. John Lassiter, presidentg of , says he is seeingg signs of improvement, with firmzs dusting off hiring decisions theyhad postponed. Still, he Charlotte’s legal industry won’t really begin to recovert untilthe financial-services industry turns a cornetr and the credit markets begin to loosen up.
Thoswe changes would stimulate practice areas focused on commercia l real estate and mergersand “There’s got to be some final settling withibn the banking world,” he says. Griffi says Robinson Bradshaw’s activity level dropped off in August andhas “continuee to be down. I sort of hope that it’se starting to pick back up, but that’s really hard to put your finger He says the firm has continued to expaneits intellectual-property practice area, whichg has been a bright spot. He expects Robinsonm Bradshaw, founded in 1960, will be well-positioned to take businessx from some of its larger national competitors whenthings rebound.
“Either because of the firm structured or because of therate we’re a more cost-effective provider than a lot of reallhy big firms in really big cities,” he “It may be this situation will furthetr that trend some. It’s hard to know, but I don’rt think it will reverse it.”