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Law360 (April 9, 2020, 6:16 PM EDT ) At least five more law firms have decided to take cost-cutting measures to weather the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to announcements made public Thursday, adding to a growing list of shops around the world that have furloughed staff and slashed attorney pay in recent days.
Amid the economic downturn caused by the novel coronavirus, a slew of firms have made staff cuts, paused partner compensation distributions and reduced associate and senior administrative staff pay. Goldberg Segalla LLP, Slaughter and May, Addleshaw Goddard, Simmons & Simmons and Bird & Bird LLP were among the firms whose moves were reported Thursday.
Buffalo, New York-based Goldberg Segalla, which last month cut back on nonessential staff amid the COVID-19 outbreak, plans to temporarily reduce partner draws by 10% to 20% beginning with the May 8 payroll, said Aidan Ryan, media relations and content supervisor at the firm.
"This is not a decision with respect to overall compensation," Ryan said.
According to Ryan, the firm is also suspending its matching contributions to 401(k) accounts, though "there has not been a decision to terminate the program," he said.
Meanwhile, Slaughter and May confirmed a report that it has temporarily suspended partner pay, and will retain the cash elsewhere in the business.
Also on Thursday, U.K.-based publication LegalWeek reported changes at Addleshaw Goddard, Simmons & Simmons and Bird & Bird. Those three firms could not be immediately reached for comment by Law360 on Thursday.
Addleshaw Goddard plans to put some of its paralegals onto the U.K.'s furlough program, while Simmons is also preparing to furlough some staff whose positions have been affected by the current remote-work environment, LegalWeek reported. Simmons is also postponing partner distributions and not making decisions about staff pay and bonuses until later in 2020, according to LegalWeek, while Bird & Bird has reportedly decided to withhold part of its global partners' profits in the next quarter.
A day earlier, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, DLA Piper, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Nixon Peabody LLP, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP, Eversheds Sutherland and Linklaters LLP were among at least 10 firms to announce that they had decided to implement cost-cutting measures.
And according to reports on Tuesday, Blank Rome LLP is planning to temporarily reduce compensation across the firm by 15%, Winston & Strawn LLP is slashing partner pay distributions, and Brown Rudnick LLP is implementing furloughs and pay cuts among associates and staff.
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC, Pryor Cashman LLP and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP have also recently announced cost-cutting actions stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak.
In the U.S. as of Thursday afternoon, about 14,700 deaths have been linked to COVID-19, and there are more than 427,460 cases in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and American territories, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
--Additional reporting by Emma Cueto and Aebra Coe. Editing by Alanna Weissman.
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