This Biglaw Firm’s Leader Promises Not To Conduct Layoffs

News of Biglaw layoffs is spreading across the Am Law 200, but one law firm leader is drawing a line in the sand, and pledging that his firm won’t follow along when it comes to job cuts.

Michael Heller, CEO of Cozen O’Connor — a firm that brought in $584,802,000 gross revenue in 2021, putting it at No. 77 in the most recent Am Law 100 — recently sat down for an interview with Bloomberg Law, where he said that the firm’s focus on financial stability will allow it to sidestep making layoffs, even amid rising economic uncertainties in 2023 and beyond.

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“We don’t want to be the firm that pays the highest salaries when times are great, terminates the associates when times are bad and then just keeps going through that cycle,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg Law. “We have always said to our partners ‘if you’re looking to make the most money you can in this world, you’re at the wrong firm.’”

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It should be noted that Heller’s interview with Bloomberg took place on the same day that Goodwin announced layoffs en masse. At the time, Heller said that Cozen O’Connor will “absolutely not” conduct layoffs (but it did cut its special bonuses last month, noting a decline in revenue).

Even if the firm doesn’t match the soaring salaries and bonuses doled out by many firms during boom times, it also didn’t cut associates during the 2008-2009 recession or slash salaries when others scrambled to tighten their belts in the early pandemic panic.

“We’ve always taken the position that we don’t want to be the firm that will pay the highest salary when the times are great, terminate the associates when times are bad, and keep going through that cycle,” Heller said. “We culturally believe it is our fiduciary duty—our moral obligation—to provide a platform for younger lawyers to build a career whether it’s through a good economy or a bad economy.”

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Instead of layoffs, Heller said Cozen is looking to expand and continue to grow its firm footprint, telling Bloomberg that, “We’ll take this opportunity if there’s a recession to spend a lot of money to continue to expand our business. We have the resources and the desire to do it, and we’re going to continue to do it.”

Let’s cross our fingers and hope that Cozen O’Connor will be able to hold true to its leader’s words and avoid layoffs. It sure would be nice if other firms could make the same commitment to its employees, but we don’t think we’ll see many more willing to make the same promise.

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Cozen O’Connor Chief: Recession Means Time to ‘Spend Money’ [Bloomberg]

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, Cozen O'Connor, Layoffs