Dechert has became the latest US firm to tighten its belt after issuing lay-off notices to 13 associates in its finance and real estate (FRE) practice, writes the Legal Intelligencer.
Shortly after the firm confirmed the planned lay-offs, Dechert chairman Barton Winokur issued a statement on Friday (29 February) saying the firm would then offer the 13 associates positions in other practice groups.
The statement said: "Due to the major shift in market conditions affecting client demands in our FRE practice area, we currently do not have sufficient work for all the associates [there]. As a consequence, we have told 13 associates in the US FRE group that we see no demand for them in that group in the foreseeable future.
"However, due to increased and substantial demand in other practice areas, we will be offering those lawyers the opportunity to work in those other groups."
It is not yet known whether those associates who had been given severance packages accepted the revised offer to switch practices. Dechert has not disclosed which offices were affected by the announced layoffs, saying only that the measures were "US-wide".
The announced lay-offs comprise less than 10% of the 167 attorneys listed in Dechert's FRE practice, which includes mortgage finance, structured finance and securitisation, investment and M&A.
The attorneys who were originally asked to leave were offered three months' severance, six months of paid medical benefits and transition placement support, sources said.
The possible departures come amid a record financial year for the firm, which last year billed $836m (£425m) and notched up partner profits of more than $2.3m (£1.17m).
The news also follows lay-offs at firms including Thacher Proffitt, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft and Clifford Chance, mainly in structured finance, real estate and capital markets.
The Legal Intelligencer is a US sister title of Legal Week.
More news, deals and comment on Dechert
Have your say on the news with Dechert on the Legal Week Wiki.
