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BigLaw firm confirms staff layoffs with 'generous…

Law Firms BigLaw firm confirms staff layoffs with 'generous separation packages'

By Debra Cassens Weiss

July 11, 2024, 9:19 am CDT

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Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath has confirmed staff layoffs earlier this year after Above the Law published a leaked memo with the announcement. No lawyers were laid off, the law firm said. (Image from Shutterstock)

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath has confirmed staff layoffs earlier this year after Above the Law published a leaked memo with the announcement.

No lawyers were laid off, the law firm said.

Above the Law, Law360 and Law.com published a statement by the firm.

“Faegre Drinker eliminated a small number of support roles effective Feb. 9, 2024, representing less than 5% of our total operations and administrative head count. No attorney or consulting professional roles were impacted. The firm offered generous separation packages to support individuals as they transitioned from the firm.”

The leaked memo added that laid-off employees would have access to free mental health services.

Faegre Drinker is the product of a 2020 merger between Faegre Baker Daniels and Drinker Biddle & Reath.

According to Law360, 216 lawyers left the firm in the three years following the combination. But the overall decrease in U.S. head count was lower during that time period, amounting to about 100 people.

The firm is hiring lateral lawyers and law grads, however. This year, the firm added lawyers from BigLaw firms that include Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders, K&L Gates, Sidley Austin, Proskauer Rose and DLA Piper.

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