Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly stated the number of associates laid off this year by Husch Blackwell Sanders. The correct number is 20. We regret the error.
Believe it: The worst economic downturn since the Great Depression has hit law firms hard. Historically, the legal sector has weathered recessions better than many other sectors have, buoyed by the attendant surges in litigation and bankruptcy work. That’s what’s happened, for instance, amid the wave of corporate scandals–the so-called Enron era–that followed the bursting of the high-tech bubble. Not this time. Big firm are hurting, their profit margins squeezed by both sagging demand and record-high expenses. The result: the now familiar litany of mass layoffs, salary freezes and cuts, deferred start dates for first-year associates, and canceled or downsized summer programs.
