Kilpatrick Cuts Pay for Lawyers and Staff as Firm Anticipates Revenue Decline
The Atlanta-based firm has temporarily cut partner draws by an average of 10%, and it will reduce pay by 5% for other lawyers and staff.
April 12, 2020 at 07:05 AM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Daily Report
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton is instituting pay reductions for all lawyers and staff, while furloughing some employees who can't work remotely, in anticipation of further economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Kilpatrick has temporarily cut partner draws by an average of 10%, effective April 7, and it will reduce pay by 5% for other lawyers and staff as of April 16, the Atlanta-based firm told the Daily Report in a statement. Secretaries, who are hourly employees, will have their work time reduced by 20% as of April 20.
"We have decided to take some proactive steps to adjust our expenses that we feel are prudent under these circumstances," Kilpatrick said in the statement. "On the financial front, we are a fiscally conservative firm that is well-positioned to work our way through this challenging time."
Kilpatrick is making the cash-conserving pay reductions after a healthy fiscal performance in 2019 that the 640-lawyer firm said extended through the first quarter of this year. "We had a very strong first quarter and were running at full speed before the pandemic," it said in the statement.
"We, like most if not all law firms, anticipate that our revenues will decrease as a result of the economic turmoil that the COVID-19 global health crisis is causing. Our goal is to find the best way to build a bridge over the anticipated economic downturn and come out strong on the other side," the firm's statement said.
Kilpatrick said it does not plan to make any layoffs at this time. However, the firm is furloughing a "small number" of office support employees who cannot work remotely. The firm will continue to provide benefits to the furloughed employees, including medical and dental, and it will assist them with obtaining government benefits.
The firm also is taking steps to help its employees weather the crisis. It is establishing a hardship fund for employees who may need additional assistance and offering the option of reduced hours for "anyone having challenges working a full schedule in a remote-working environment," the statement said.
In 2019, Kilpatrick reported a 6.3% revenue increase to $478.82 million and an 8.7% jump in net income to $136.37 million.
The firm's chairman, J. Henry Walker IV, told the Daily Report in a February interview that the profit increase exceeded budget by 20%. The gains boosted the firm's average profit per equity partner by 9.7% to $1,229,000.
"As we move forward, we remain focused on the health and safety of our workforce and actively managing through this challenging time to find the best way forward for our firm," the firm's statement said.
"We're inspired by the efforts of our lawyers and professional staff, which continue to work together to successfully and seamlessly serve client needs as they have for more than 160 years."
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 AllJudge Approves Orrick's $8M Data Breach Settlement While Gunster Agrees to $8.5M
'Sharp and Profound' Policy Shifts Prompt DC Law Firms to Evaluate Opportunities, Challenges
5 minute readBaker McKenzie, Greenberg Traurig, Clyde & Co. Expand In Middle East
3 minute readLaw Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Trump's Return to the White House: The Legal Industry Reacts
- 2Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 3Climate Disputes, International Arbitration, and State Court Limitations for Global Issues
- 4Election 2024: Nationwide Judicial Races and Ballot Measures to Watch
- 5Judicial Face-Off: Navigating the Ethical and Efficient Use of AI in Legal Practice [CLE Pending]
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.