Arent Fox Chairman Marc Fleischaker has confirmed reports that the firm has rescinded offers made to some of its deferred associates. The associates who had their offers withdrawn were told last week. In all, Mr. Fleischaker said, about 12 of 24 incoming associates were affected. Washington, D.C., the firm’s largest office, had “about eight,” New York had “between two and three,” and Los Angeles had one, he said. The news was first reported on the legal gossip blog Above the Law.
In a phone interview, Mr. Fleischaker said that while the firm did not want to take the step of telling deferred associates that they needed to look for work elsewhere, he said that it was the right thing to do. “We’re probably going to be pilloried for it, but we felt strongly that it was not fair to keep people in limbo when the likelihood was low that they were going to get the call. These people probably put their lives on hold waiting to hear from us, and they should have the chance to be looking for work elsewhere.”
