More Cuts Could Be Coming As Biglaw Firms Brace For Recession

// The slowdown is forecasted to go into next year, and the first six months of next year are looking jagged. It’s not good for anybody to have these people that are underutilized. Like with anything, what goes up must come down. The economy couldn’t keep roaring the way it was.

— Larry Watanabe, a California-based partner recruiter, commenting in an interview with the American Lawyer on the fact that because Biglaw firms are likely budgeting for a recession in early 2023, cuts are to be expected in the year’s final quarters. This fall, a few firms have made cuts to headcount in their corporate practices. “There’s a lot more due diligence in hiring corporate lawyers” now than compared to corporate hiring in 2021, he said.

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Staci 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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Biglaw, Layoffs, Quote of the Day, Stealth Layoffs