This just in — Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly has approved a fiscal plan for 2009 that will allow it to avert any layoffs and keep all its offers to summer clerks in place. “I have a lot of confidence we can make this work,” said Minneapolis attorney David Potter, the head of the firm.
The firm has taken some recession-era measures, including aggressive expense management, a pay and hiring freeze at all levels, a suspension of 2009 retirement account contributions and deferring the start time for fall associates. Those lawyers will receive their benefits and some pay starting in October, but will be asked to do pro bono work and not really start until January 2010, Potter said. The summer program next year will be shortened by half but all summer associate offers are still good.
Oppenheimer may have shown the legal profession the silver lining in this cloud — it is actively assisting its summer associates, new lawyers and existing lawyers with time on their hands to find pro bono work to do, Potter said.
He added that it goes without saying that partner profits will be decreased.
The strategy of no layoffs, pro bono work and partner profits diminished doesn’t follow the bad example set by some East Coast law firms, where lawyers were fired so partners could continue taking home seven figures. It could be a kinder, gentler Minnesota model.
As a CAREER (Summer) associate at Oppenheimer this summer, this news is a double-edged sword. I’m happy to see that the firm is taking steps to try to make sure that there aren’t layoffs, but it is worrisome to have start times delayed and the summer program halved.
Mr. Potter says he has a lot of confidence that this will work, I hope he’s right.
Don’t take the bait. This firm will not hesitate, and has not hesitated in the past, to layoff associates.