We’re still in the rumor stage, but there’s a growing level of concern, absolutely. And of course younger people who don’t have a book of business or aren’t in the stage of developing a partial book of business are very concerned.

— Law firm management consultant Patrick McKenna, commenting on associates’ layoff fears amid falling demand for legal services in a recent interview with the American Lawyer. Will this incentivize firms to do more to get associates back into the office? Harry Austin, a U.K.-based consultant at Deacon, noted that given today’s economics, “Firms can get away with being much more conservative and so the power is back in their hands.”

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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, Law Firm Reopenings, Layoffs, Quote of the Day