Littler to Cut Pay for Lawyers and Staff Amid 'Financial Uncertainty'
Equity shareholders will take a 20% pay reduction, while other lawyers and staff will see compensation cuts ranging from 4% to 15%.
April 28, 2020 at 04:48 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Daily Report
Littler Mendelson, the nation's largest labor and employment firm, is one of the latest big firms to announce pay cuts for attorneys and staff in response to economic uncertainty from the pandemic. The salary reductions will range from 4% to 20%, with equity shareholders taking the largest cuts.
While Littler is not laying off or furloughing any employees, it will cut pay by 50% on June 5 for staff who are unable to work remotely, the firm said in a statement Tuesday.
The expense trimming at Littler and other national labor and employment firms come even as these firms have seen a rush of employer questions on workplace issues during the pandemic. Other L&E firms cutting expenses include Fisher & Phillips, which has cut pay for lawyers and staff while furloughing some non-remote employees, and Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, which has furloughed some staff and reduced hours for others who can't work remotely.
Littler's co-presidents, Thomas Bender and Jeremy Roth, said in a statement that "financial uncertainty" from the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the action. The decision "was not taken lightly," the firm co-leaders said. "It was based on weeks of in-depth analysis and financial modeling to assess the potential impact of COVID-19 on our business and the best path forward."
"We arrived at an approach that shares the burden across the firm at all levels," they said.
Littler is taking a staggered approach to the pay reductions. On May 8, equity shareholders will take a 20% cut to compensation, while salaries for nonequity shareholders and staff making above $300,000 will be cut by 15%. (For nonequity partners and staff paid at this level in Mexico and Canada, these reductions will not take place until May 15.)
Equity shareholders make up just over 80% of Littler's total shareholders. The firm, which has about 1,100 U.S. lawyers, reported 396 equity shareholders and 85 nonequity shareholders last year for a total of 481.
The cuts for the highest earners will be followed June 5 by 10% reductions on average for the firm's other lawyers and staff. Pay cuts will range from 4% for those making $50,000 or less to 13% for those making over $200,000 up to $300,000.
"We believe these measures will help us maintain our financial strength while ensuring we have the right resources in place to prepare for the months ahead and to continue to effectively serve our clients," Bender and Roth said in the statement. "We are deeply grateful to our Littler team for their understanding and patience during this extraordinarily difficult time."
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllHighest-Earning Partners May Be Looking to Cash In on Early Retirement
5 minute readGrayRobinson Opens Office in Pensacola, Marking First New Office Since 2019
3 minute readFrost Enters Arizona Market With Acquisition of Litigation Boutique
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250