The COVID Crisis Law Firm Layoff Tracker: What's Your Firm Doing To Survive?

The latest updates on the salary cuts, furloughs, and layoffs that are taking over the legal industry.

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The rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe has impacted virtually every facet of life. The times we live in are now uncertain, the economy is going downhill, and nothing is normal anymore. If you remember what happened back in 2009, when thousands of lawyers lost their jobs thanks to the recession, you may be starting to have some flashbacks.

Major law firms have been attempting to manage their expenses by using the cost-cutting measures of salary cuts and benefits reductions, and some have even gone so far as to conduct furloughs and layoffs.

Just as we’ve done in the past when it comes to raises and bonuses, we are compiling a table of all the firms that have announced salary cuts, furloughs, and layoffs in these strange times. Today, we unveil that table so you can see exactly how the legal profession is dealing with the coronavirus crisis. We will be updating this table on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times, as more news is announced. If you see any information here that is incorrect or needs clarification, let us know.

Help us help you. Let us know what your firm is doing to survive during this unprecedented moment in time. The following firms have told employees they won’t cut salaries/conduct furloughs (Cahill Gordon; Weil; Latham; Quinn Emanuel (partner distributions have been deferred and draws have been adjusted); Shearman; Perkins Coie (see below); Morrison Foerster; Fried Frank; Vinson & Elkins; Ropes & Gray; Kramer Levin; Morgan Lewis; Schulte Roth and Zabel; DLA Piper; Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (see below); Arnold & Porter; Covington & Burling; Sidley; Greenberg Traurig) or have offered bonuses and special pandemic tech stipends (Hueston Hennigan; Skadden; Fried Frank; Debevoise; Willkie (no stipend, but offered to ship all tech needed); Milbank; Quinn Emanuel; Ropes & Gray; Kramer Levin; Schulte Roth and Zabel, Simpson Thacher).

As a little reminder, we love covering law firm news, but we need your help. As soon as you find out about salary cuts, furloughs, or layoffs at your firm, please email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] COVID Layoffs”). We always keep our sources on stories anonymous. There’s no need to send a memo (if one exists) using your firm email account; your personal email account is fine. If a memo has been circulated, please be sure to include it as proof; we like to post complete memos as a service to our readers. You can take a photo of the memo and attach as a picture if you are worried about metadata in a PDF or Word file.

Firm Measures Taken Who Is Affected?
Akerman Salary Cuts
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (equity partners seeing a 35 percent cut to their draws; nonequity partners, of counsel, and consultants making over $150K will have a 25 percent salary cut; consultants making less than $150K are getting a 15 percent pay cut; associates are seeing a 15 percent pay cut, as are staff making $150K+; staff making less than $150K are seeing a 10 percent cut; over 3 dozen attorneys, including partners and associates, have been laid off; unknown number of staff have been laid off)
Allen & Overy (UK offices) Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (partners holding capital call and reducing profit distributions; associates and staff salaries frozen)
Arent Fox Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (equity partner distributions reduced by 60 percent in March; 30 percent pay cuts for nonequity partners; 30 percent pay cuts for counsel; 25 percent pay cuts for associates; 25 percent pay cuts for staff)
Baker Botts Salary Cuts
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (partners have agreed to compensation reductions to absorb the bulk of the financial impact expected from the pandemic; counsel: 20 to 30 percent cuts (based on salary level); associates: 20 percent cuts; staff: 0 to 25 percent (based on salary level, staff making under $70K will be spared from the cuts); approximately 50 staff positions were eliminated, effective October 15th)
Baker Donelson Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (partner draws and salary reduced; pay cuts across entire firm; some employees to be furloughed)
BakerHostetler Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (partners will see unspecified reduced distributions; associates and staff (making more than $70K or $80K, depending on the market) will see a 10 percent cut, with a 15 percent pay cut for counsel)
Baker McKenzie Salary Cuts
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (all U.S. attorneys and business professionals making over $100K will see a 15 percent cut in salary (10 percent salary cut for the same group in Canada; no salary cuts planned in Mexico); no annual raises; lower salary points will last from May 1 through December 31; in September, the firm conducted layoffs in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico (including lawyers, other timekeepers, and business professionals)
Ballard Spahr Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (10 percent pay cut for non-partner employees who make between $75K and $250K; 15 percent pay cut for non-partner employees who make more than $250K; partners draws reduced by 25 percent)
Belkin Burden Goldman Layoffs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (about 2/3 of staff members laid off; salaries reportedly halved)
Blank Rome Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (firm has “furloughed a small number of support staff”; “no attorneys have been furloughed” at this time; temporary 15 percent pay cut “shared equally” by partners, associates, counsel, staff)
Bremer Whyte Layoffs
Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (about 15 percent of lawyers were either furloughed or laid off; about 20 percent of staff were furloughed; equity partners foregoing pay)
Brown Rudnick Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers (stealth associate furloughs; 7.5 percent annualized associate pay cut (aka 25 percent for several months); delay on payment of 2019 bonuses)
Bryan Cave Salary Cuts
Layoffs (Round 1)
Layoffs (Round 2)
Lawyers/Staff (15 percent pay cut for all employees making over $40K; 6-week to 6-month sabbaticals encouraged, where employees would receive 30 percent of normal salary; layoffs round 1: attorneys and staff subject to global “targeted reductions” (i.e., layoffs) as of July 15; Beijing office closed; layoffs round 2: about 4 percent of the firm’s global workforce was laid off (an estimated 118 lawyers and staff were let go))
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Reported Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (5 percent salary cut for associates; unknown cuts for staff; partners are taking an undisclosed but reduced share; some staff furloughed, reported layoffs)
Cadwalader Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (partners to forego distributions during “peak months”; 25 percent pay cuts for associates; 25 percent pay cuts for admin staff making more than $100K; 10 percent pay cuts for admin staff making less than $100K)
Clark Hill Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Benefit Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (salary cut for attorneys and staff; freeze on discretionary spending; revision of certain benefits (401k matching is suspended); furloughs of some employees)
Cleary Gottlieb Layoffs Staff (in September, the firm laid off an undisclosed number of staff members after offering voluntary severance packages in June)
Clifford Chance Salary Cuts
Bonus Delays
Lawyers/Staff (global partner distributions have been deferred; salary reviews and raises have been frozen; bonuses will be paid, the timing of said payments may be delayed)
Cozen O’Connor Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Lawyers/Staff (equity partners will have between 10 and 20 percent of their compensation deferred; staff who are unable to work remotely (~5 percent of administrative staff) have been furloughed)
Crowell & Moring Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (25 percent compensation cut for equity partners; 20 percent compensation cut for income partners; 15 percent pay cut for associates and counsel; 5 to 20 percent pay cut for staff who make more than $100K (about 1/3 of staff members))
Cullen & Dykman Layoffs
Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (at least 30 people laid off or furloughed; up to 20 percent pay cut for lawyers and staff)
Curtis Salary Cuts Lawyers (25 percent pay cut for associates)
Davidoff Hutcher & Citron Layoffs Lawyers (34 staff members were laid off)
Davis & Gilbert Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (substantially reducing the base draw amounts for a number of partners so that all partners now have the same base draw amount; temporarily limiting partner distributions to 75 percent of that base amount; deferring mid-summer distribution when partners would typically receive an advance against their year-end profit allocations; 15 percent salary cuts for associates, senior attorneys, and counsel; salaries for staff and managers: 15 percent cuts for those earning over $150K; 10 percent cut for those earning between $70K and $150K (no salary cuts below $70K))
Davis Wright Tremaine Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (quarterly equity partner distributions will be reduced; effective May 2 through year end, 15 percent pay cut for contract partners, 12 percent for associates, counsel, and of counsel, 15 percent pay cut for C-level executives, 6-10 pay cut for staff based on salary level (no reduction below $60K); temporarily furloughs for approx 8 percent of staff (those whose workflows have been disrupted or diminished due to reduced demand); in September, some of the staff who were furloughed were laid off)
Day Pitney Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (15 percent pay cut for all attorneys and some staff; temporary reduction to 60 percent of normal working hours and pay for other staff; significant reductions to partner draws and suspension of scheduled April supplemental distribution)
Dentons Salary Cuts
Bonus Delays
Voluntary Buyouts
Lawyers/Staff (at least 20 percent reduction in draws for all partners (with most highly compensated partners seeing much higher cuts); progressive salary cuts for lawyers and staff, starting at 0 percent and reaching 20 percent for those earning more than $190K (no cuts for those making less than $60K); 2019 bonuses were due to be paid in full in April 2020, and firm will pay 50 percent on schedule and delay the second half until the second half of 2020; voluntary retirement program for business services staff and paralegals announced in September)
Dickinson Wright Layoffs
Program Cuts
Staff/Law Students (approximately 3 percent of staff have been laid off; summer associate program canceled (all will receive offers); incoming first-year associate class start date postponed to January 2021)
Dinsmore Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (a “portion” of partner distributions has been deferred; there have been a “small number” of layoffs (lawyers and staff); some staff have been “temporarily” furloughed)
DLA Piper (EMEA offices) Salary Cuts
Bonus Delays
Pay Raise Delays
Lawyers/Staff (partners’ monthly draws reduced beginning on May 1; partners will defer quarterly distributions for three months; firm’s reduced profits will have an impact on partner pay; pay raises will not be awarded for the first half of the 2020-2021 financial year (possibly for entire year; bonus payments delayed; firm may ask some to temporarily reduce working hours or take sabbaticals)
Dorsey & Whitney Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Layoffs
Benefit Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (equity partner distributions have been capped; staff who cannot perform jobs remotely have been furloughed (less than 4 percent of all staff); 33 percent cut to firm contributions to employee retirement plans; 10-20 percent salary cuts for income partners; 15-20 percent salary cuts for of counsel; “generally” 15 percent salary cuts for associates (with opportunity for true-up at end of year); 15-20 percent salary cuts for management-level staff making over $150K; unspecified number of terminations (attorneys and staff))
Downey Brand Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (20 percent salary cut for all employees for a four-month period ending July 31; equity partners have taken a hit as well)
Duane Morris Salary Cuts Lawyers (15 percent salary cut for associates and special counsel until 12/2020; 401K match suspended for the remainder of 2020)
Eversheds Sutherland Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (equity partners will “lead the way” when it comes to reduced compensation, taking smaller distributions; lawyers and staff will face a 10 percent pay cut on average (including bonuses); those who earn $50K or less will not have their compensation reduced; 40 staff members (about one-third of whom can’t do their work remotely) will be furloughed for three months’ time; start date for incoming first-year associates deferred to January 2021)
Faegre Drinker Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (equity partner distributions deferred by one-third for second quarter; firmwide reduction in pay of 15 percent for other lawyers effective May 1; professional consultant and staff pay has been reduced on a variable, compensation-based schedule, with no reductions for staff or consultants earning less than $50K, graduating up to a 15% reduction for the most senior employees effective May 1; less than 1.5 percent of firm personnel have been furloughed; 1.5 percent of total staff headcount subject to layoffs due to recent merger)
Finnegan Henderson Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (all employees making $150K+ taking a 20 percent pay cut; those making $100K to $150K will see a 15 percent pay cut; those making between $75K and $100K will see a 10 percent pay cut; those making under $75K will go unscathed)
Fisher Phillips Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (20 percent pay cut for associates and salaried staff; 20 percent cut to hours for hourly staff; hourly staff who are unable to work remotely have been furloughed; undisclosed pay cut for partners)
Foley Hoag Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (15 percent pay cut for associates and business professionals making $190K+; 7.5 percent pay cut for staff making $150K-190K; 20-30 percent pay cut for non-equity partners; equity partners have already taken compensation cuts of an undisclosed amount)
Fox Rothschild Salary Cuts
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (tiered salary reduction of between 10 percent and 15 percent for all attorneys and staff earning above $100K takes effect in May (no reductions for anyone with a salary of $100K or less); equity partners are also reducing their monthly draws in tiers, between 10 percent and 20 percent, beginning in May; first-year associates will begin their employment in January 2021; attorneys were reportedly subject to stealth layoffs, but firm says they were “productivity and performance”-based terminations)
Fragomen Salary Cuts
Benefit Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (salary reductions for all partners and senior C-suite corporate leaders; no bonuses or salary increases in 2020; firm has suspended its 401(k) matching program)
Frankford Kurnit Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (effective May 1, partner salaries were cut by 25 percent; attorney and staff salaries were slashed by 20 percent; a hiring freeze was put into effect; all cuts expected to last for the rest of 2020)
Freshfields Salary Cuts Lawyers (quarterly partner distributions have been suspended; global lawyer pay has been frozen and bonus decisions (typically made in April) will be postponed until September)
Fried Frank Voluntary Buyouts Staff (firm is offering a voluntary buyouts to business services professionals (legal executive assistants and those working in information technology, marketing, recruiting and human resources units); those approved will receive one week of salary for every year they have worked for the law firm, a lump sum ($1,000 for every year they have worked for the firm), plus a full year of medical benefits through COBRA; payouts will be capped at 24 weeks)
Fross Zelnick Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (partners taking reduced draws; 15 percent pay cuts for associates and staff)
Goldberg Segalla Layoffs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (unclear how many employees impacted by layoffs; biweekly partner draws reduced by 10 to 20 percent; 401(k) matching program suspended)
Goodwin Layoffs Lawyers/Staff (about 50 staff members were laid off; severance packages, based on tenure; firm will contribute to healthcare benefits through September 30, 2020; firm is reportedly conducting stealth attorney layoffs)
Greenspoon Marder Salary Cuts
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (firmwide salary cuts; 40 staff members and five attorneys have been laid off)
Hinshaw & Culbertson Salary Cuts
Benefit Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (15 percent salary cuts for all employees making more than $55K; retirement savings plan match suspended; mid-year reviews and salary adjustments delayed)
Hodgson Russ Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Benefits Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (partner draws reduced by more than 30 percent; 15 percent pay cut for all attorneys; 15 percent pay cut for all executives/director positions; 15 percent pay cut for all other employees; employees with little/no work who cannot work remotely will be furloughed; all 401(k) matching for employees indefinitely suspended)
Hogan Lovells Salary Cuts
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (delaying bonuses and 2019 profit distributions for all partners; U.S. equity partners will reduce monthly draws by between 15 percent and 25 percent; all equity partners will defer half of any profits for first quarter of 2020 normally paid in August until November; non-equity partners will take a reduction starting June 1 of 15 percent in their base compensation; base compensation of counsel, associates, attorneys, specialists, and knowledge lawyers in the U.S. will be reduced as well (15 percent pay cut for certain highly compensated counsel and specialists; 10 percent pay cut for everyone else; 15 percent pay cut for senior counsel; no pay cuts for whose whose base compensation is $100K or less); in late October, around 4% of the firm’s Americas-based Business Services employees were laid off)
Holland & Hart Salary Cuts
Benefit Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (equity partners’ profit distributions will be reduced; salaried attorneys will see a 15 percent pay cut, beginning in June; employees who make between $60K and $99,999 will see a 5 percent pay cut; those who make under $60K will not endure pay cuts; firm has suspended the employer portion of their 401(k) matching program)
Holland & Knight Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (partner draws reduced on average by approximately 25 percent under progressive scale (more highly compensated partners to absorb higher percentage reduction); 17.5 percent pay cuts for associates, counsel, and senior professionals; staff who earn more than $75K but less than $150K will have pay cut by 10 percent; staff who earn more than $150K will see pay cut by 15 percent; staff earning less than $75K will not be impacted)
Hughes Hubbard & Reed Layoffs Lawyers/Staff (an undisclosed number of lawyers and staff were laid off on July 6 & 7; affected associates will receive three months’ severance pay and five free sessions with a recruiter to help them find another job)
Husch Blackwell Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (equity partner draws cut by 15 percent; salaries for all managing directors and c-level executives cut by 10 percent; 10 percent holdback of fixed compensation for income partners; about 10 percent of employees (lawyers and staff) either laid off or furloughed)
Ice Miller Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Lawyers/Staff (35 staff members furloughed; temporarily adjusting salaries firmwide for anyone who makes more than $50K; partners reducing compensation)
Katten Muchin Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Layoffs (Round 1)
Layoffs (Round 2)
Lawyers/Staff (equity partners suspending monthly draws for two months (April and May) and received a draw in June but at a 25 percent reduction; salaries for lawyers and staff will be cut up to 20 percent for those who make over $100K (no one will have their pay reduced below $100K); no one who earns less than $100K will have salaries cut; on May 1, some staff and staff attorneys will be furloughed; layoffs round 1: some previously furloughed staff will be permanently laid off on August 1; layoffs round 2: the firm laid off “a limited number of our attorneys” as well as staff members who were on furlough)
Kelley Drye Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (equity partners’ draws reduced by as much as 20 percent; across-the-board 10 percent pay cut for all other lawyers and employees earning over $100K (no one subject will be cut below $100K annually); administrative staff salary increases postponed)
K&L Gates Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (20 percent reduction in scheduled advances for equity partners (with firm leaders taking even larger reductions); 15 percent pay cuts for income partners, associates, and allied professionals/staff (but salaries won’t go below floor of $75K))
Kirkland & Ellis Layoffs Staff (firm reportedly conducted staff layoffs in late October)
Littler Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (20 percent cuts for equity partners and corporate management; 15 percent cuts for nonequity partners and non-attorney senior-level administrative employees with compensation of more than $300K; all other non-equity partners, principals, other attorneys, paralegals, and office and corporate administrative employees will have salary cuts on a sliding scale based on annual salary: up to $50K: 4 percent; >$50-$75K: 6.5 percent; >$75-$100K: 9 percent; >$100-$200K: 11 percent; >$200-$300K: 13 percent; all other employees who are unable to work remotely due to their job responsibilities will see their pay reduced by 50 percent)
Locke Lord Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (10 percent cut to associate salaries that began May 1 (anticipated to continue through end o 2020); staff who were unable to do their jobs remotely have been furloughed)
Loeb & Loeb Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (monthly draws reduced by 20 percent for capital partners; 15 percent pay cuts for income partners, senior counsel, of counsel, associates, senior staff; 10 percent pay cuts for paralegals and all other staff)
Lowenstein Sandler Salary Cuts Lawyers (equity partners “substantially” reducing distributions)
Manatt Salary Cuts Lawyers (20 percent pay cut for all attorneys)
Marshall Dennehey Benefit Cuts Lawyers/Staff (suspending 4 percent employer 401(k) match until 2021)
Mayer Brown Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (effective May 18, salaries for all non-equity lawyers and staff (who make more than $200K) will be reduced by 15 percent (most likely to last until the end of 2020); all other staff will have salaries reduced on a graduated scale, with no reduction for those making less than $30K; firm has created voluntary leave program, where those who take advantage of it will receive 25 percent of salary and benefits for up to 12 weeks leave, plus 10 percent more if they complete a certain number of pro bono hours; firm will be postponing the start date for their incoming associates to January 2021)
McDermott Layoffs
Furloughs
Lawyers/Staff (associates and staff (administrative assistants, paralegals, long-term contract attorneys) reportedly subject to layoffs; some staff furloughed until July 2020)
Miller Canfield Layoffs
Furloughs
Lawyers/Staff (“of the temporary furloughs, two were full-time attorneys, including one associate”; “of the separations, one attorney was a principal and six were non-principals, including three associates”)
Mintz Levin Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (associates, of counsel, special counsel, practice group associates:
10 percent base pay cut, no discretionary bonus; patent agents and technical specialists: 5 percent base pay cut, no discretionary bonus; staff: 5 percent base pay cut (subject to not falling below a $75K floor), base pay freeze (no merit or other increases this spring), discretionary bonus pool will be reduced by 50 percent)
Munck Wilson Mandala Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (compensation reduced for partners, associates, exempt directors, and managera; some partners have voluntarily deferred entirety of their compensation for the next three months; some staff were furloughed or had their hours reduced)
Nelson Mullins Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Lawyers/Staff (associates will have a temporary 9 percent salary reduction per annum (i.e., ~13.5 percent gross reduction per remaining paycheck) starting with May 15 paycheck and going through December; staff furloughed for a week of their choosing between June 1 and September 30)
Nixon Peabody Furloughs
Layoffs (Round 1)
Layoffs (Round 2)
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff/Law Students (about 25 percent of staff members have been furloughed; layoffs round 1: 10 percent of non-partner attorneys are being cut (5 percent layoffs (with three months of health insurance) and 5 percent furloughs (presumably with full benefits)); summer associate program canceled without guaranteed offers; 10 percent cuts to associate and counsel salaries; incoming first-year associate start date postponed until February 2021; layoffs round 2: in September, some of those previously furloughed were permanently laid off)
Norton Rose Fulbright Salary Cuts
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (15 percent salary cut in U.S. for all salaried non-partner attorneys and staff (except those making under $50K); unknown number of lawyers/staff impacted by layoffs)
Ogletree Furloughs
Layoffs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (salaries and workweeks cut for staff; unpaid leave (i.e., furlough) program after two weeks of special furlough pay; lawyers reportedly laid off in Texas; 20 percent pay cut for equity partners; 15 percent pay cut for associates; 10 percent pay cut for highly compensated staff (no cuts for staff who make less than $100K); all salary cuts will be in effect for the remainder of 2020)
Orrick Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (career associates: 5 percent pay cut; associates: 10 percent pay cut; managing/senior associates and most of counsel: 15 percent pay cut; partners, of counsel, executive staff: “deeper” cuts; more junior staff: 1 percent pay cut; more senior staff: up to a 15 percent pay cut; some staff will be asked to work reduced/four-day schedules)
Pepper Hamilton Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (partners are taking an unspecified reduction in distributions; 20 percent pay cut for associates; all staff with salaries at or above $60K will have salaries reduced on a graduated scale with annualized cuts for the majority of those employees ranging between 3 percent and 9 percent)
Perkins Coie Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (the firm is withholding 19+ percent of partners’ annual base incomes; non-partner attorneys will see a 15 percent pay cut; staff making $200K+ will see a 15 percent pay cut; staff making $125K-$200K will see a 10 percent pay cut)
Pillsbury Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (partner monthly draws reduced by a minimum of 25 percent starting in April; 20 percent cuts to associate and counsel pay starting May 15; up to 15 percent cuts to staff salaries (for those who make $100K+, with chief officers volunteering to take higher reductions; staff making less than $75K will not be impacted)
Pond Lehocky Layoffs Staff (the firm is permanently laying off about 30 percent of its total workforce (76 employees), effective June 1)
Pryor Cashman Furloughs Lawyers (applies to “associates whose workflow has been interrupted by the COVID-19 crisis”)
Quarles & Brady Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Lawyers/Staff (30 percent cut in quarterly distribution for equity partners, then a a 20 percent cut in bi-weekly draws (indefinite length); 15% pay reduction for nonequity partners (making $200K+) (indefinite length); 10 percent pay cut for associates (and nonequity partners making under $200K) (indefinite length); remaining staff: 10 percent pay cut for salaries above $75K, 5 percent pay cut for salaries below $75K (indefinite length); about 30 staff members have been furloughed (health insurance to be covered during furlough)
Quinn Emanuel Salary Cuts Lawyers (partner distributions that were originally scheduled for April will be postponed until July; the firm has adjusted the size of its partner draws for April, May, and June (temporary decreases applied primarily to more senior, highly paid partners); the firm has not laid off or furloughed any employees and does not intend to do so
Reed Smith Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (partners slowing down cash distributions; 10 percent pay cut for counsel for next three months (extended through end of 2020); 15 percent pay cut for associates for next four months (15 percent cuts will be extended through August, and from August to December, the cuts will increase to 20 percent); deferred decisions on merit increases and discretionary bonus payments for staff; partner bonuses deferred (split into two payments, with first half on the scheduled payment date, and the balance three months later); staff earning more than $100K will have salaries reduced nearly 6 percent on an annualized basis; small number of lawyer/staff layoffs in London office)
Rivkin Radler Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (partners did not receive compensation in March; 20 percent pay cut for associates and staff)
Robinson Brog Layoffs Lawyers/Staff (unclear how many employees impacted by layoffs (3 lawyers, 5 staff reportedly laid off); firm has reportedly made across-the-board 15 percent reduction in pay for all attorneys, including partners)
Ropes & Gray Voluntary Buyouts Staff (firm is offering a voluntary separation incentive program to all of its U.S. support team employees; those approved will receive one week of severance pay per year of service, plus an additional four weeks’ worth of pay (with a minimum of 12 weeks and a maximum of 30 weeks))
Saul Ewing Salary Cuts
Layoffs
Furloughs
Lawyers/Staff (25 non-partner attorneys have reportedly been laid off; number of impacted staff remains unclear; reduced draws for partners; exact percentages for salary cuts is unclear (but only apply to those making more than $50K)
Seyfarth Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (equity partners will reduce their monthly draws by 20 percent; all U.S. lawyers will have their pay reduced by 10 percent; staff will see their pay reduced in tiers, with those who earn $60K or less unaffected (0 percent on the first $60K of earnings; 5 percent on $60K-$150K of earnings; 10 percent on earnings over $150K); 10 percent of U.S. employees will be furloughed for a 90-day period (180 staff and 50 attorneys); in September, the firm announced that “some staff and a small number of attorneys who were furloughed in April” would be laid off)
Schiff Hardin Layoffs Lawyers/Staff (temporary 15 percent pay cuts for most attorneys; about 6 percent of attorneys will have their compensation cut by up to 50 percent based on anticipated demand; 15 percent pay cut for staff who make more than $100K; small number of staff layoffs)
Shearman & Sterling Voluntary Leave Lawyers (attorneys can take a minimum of three months and a maximum of six months sabbatical at 30 percent of their current salary; if attorneys decide to do pro bono work during their time off, their salary may be “topped up to 40 percent”)
Sheppard Mullin Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (50 staff members (such as receptionists, support services, and file center employees) furloughed because they cannot perform their jobs from home; partner salaries cut at “meaningfully greater percentage”; 12 percent salary cuts for associates, special counsel, and staff attorneys through year end; 5 percent salary cuts for staff members making between $70K and $90K; 10 percent salary cuts for staff members making more than $90K; no cuts for staff members making less than $70K; workshare program for staff members without a full-time load of work available; firm will cut the hours/compensation of those staff members by 20 percent; 22 of the 44 furloughed staff members were laid off in October)
Shook Hardy Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Lawyers/Staff (temporary furloughs of professional staff with location-dependent work; firmwide salary cuts (staff: 20 percent pay cut; associates: 25 percent pay cut; income partners: 50 percent pay cut in April; equity partners: 90 percent reduction in upcoming draw, thereafter reduced by 75 percent))
Skadden Layoffs Staff (in September, the firm “laid off just under 4% of professional staff” across its U.S. offices)
Smith Gambrell Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (10 percent pay cut for all employees; 20 percent cut to partner draws)
Snell & Wilmer Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (partners’ monthly draws and base salaries of non-partner attorneys cut will by 10 percent, starting in May; staff pay cut by 1 percent to 10 percent, based on annual salary; furloughs for certain staff unable to work remotely or whose work has significantly declined; the firm reportedly conducted stealth attorney layoffs during summer months, but denies layoffs occurred, “‘stealth’ or otherwise”)
Squire Patton Boggs Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Lawyers/Staff (20 percent salary cut for all associates; 10 to 20 percent salary cuts for staff, depending on salary; partner distributions to be reduced (“partnership will shoulder the largest financial burden”); staff underutilized or unable to perform their job remotely will be furloughed)
Stoel Rives Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Lawyers/Staff (partner distributions reduced by 20 percent, effective April 1; tiered hourly reductions for staff with corresponding pay reductions (5 percent for those earning less than $75K; 10 percent for those earning $75K-$100K; 15 percent for those earning $100K-$150K; and 20 percent for those earning over $150K), effective May 1; 20 percent pay reduction for associates, staff attorneys, and of counsel attorneys, effective May 1; about 10 percent staff members furloughed beginning April 17, 2020 for at least 90 days; hiring and spending freeze continuing; staff bonuses deferred; hours-based associate bonuses eliminated in favor of discretionary-only bonuses)
Stroock Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Lawyers/Staff (effective June 1, monthly draws for equity partners will be reduced by 20 percent and monthly draws for contract partners will be reduced by 15 percent; all non-partner lawyers will see a salary cut of 15 percent; staff making $75K+ will see a 15 percent salary cut)
Sullivan & Cromwell Layoffs Staff (about 50 staff members across several departments were laid off; many older employees were given the option of early retirement through a voluntary retirement program)
Sullivan & Worcester Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (employees who can’t do jobs remotely were furloughed for 90 days with full benefits; 5 percent salary cut for all employees who make more than $66K; nonequity partners’ draws reduced by 10 percent; equity partners’ draws reduced by 20 percent)
Taft Law Layoffs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (partner draws reduced by 25 percent; 1.4 percent of attorneys laid off firmwide; 3.5 percent of staff laid off firmwide)
Thompson Hine Salary Cuts Lawyers/Staff (15 percent cuts to quarterly partner draws; staff compensation cut by 1.7 percent (annualized))
Thompson & Knight Layoffs Staff (18 positions eliminated in document processing due to new outsourcing plan that was expedited by pandemic)
Troutman Sanders Voluntary Leave
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (firm has offered a voluntary temporary leave of absence program (expected to last for 3 months) for staff, across all offices; participating employees will receive a weekly stipend plus paid health insurance premiums; equity partners are receiving an annualized 18.5 percent pay cut; non-equity partners are receiving a 14 percent annualized pay cut; associates are receiving an 11.7 percent annualized pay cut)
Vedder Price Layoffs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (4 percent reduction of force (attorneys, staff, and paralegals affected); partners took a 20 percent cut on their draws)
Venable Salary Cuts
Furloughs
Layoffs
Lawyers/Staff (salaries cut for lawyers and staff in tiers, from no reduction to 20 percent (plus 10 percent on all compensation above $400K); furlough certain professional staff (primarily those involved in positions that support facilities and in-person operations) until May 29, 2020; some staff members who were fruloughed were laid off in September, along with “other professional staff”)
Winston & Strawn Salary Cuts
Layoffs
Lawyers (partners reducing distributions by 50 percent for next 3 months; ~10 percent of associates reportedly laid off (30-40 attorneys) and almost all secretarial positions were eliminated to create new positions as part of a resource center)
Womble Bond Dickinson Layoffs
Furloughs
Salary Cuts
Lawyers/Staff (10 percent pay reduction for anyone making over $100K; lower percentage reductions in the $50-100K range and sub-$50K range)

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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