Despite speculation that others might follow in Weil, Gotshal & Manges’s footsteps after it laid off 60 associates and 110 staffers Monday, the leaders of several large law firms tried during conversations with The Am Law Daily Tuesday to distance themselves from the possibility that they will make layoffs, pointing out that Weil's situation may be firm-specific.
The leaders of six Weil peer firms who agreed to speak say they are not currently considering lawyer layoffs, and five of the six said they are not looking at staff cuts either. Leaders of 15 other Am Law 100 firms either did not respond to calls on the topic or said they had no comment. Several firm leaders said they did not want their names attached to a story about layoffs, citing their experiences during the last season of layoffs in 2008–09, because the layoffs received negative press attention.
