Sedgwick Back Office to Close, Lay Off 75 Employees
More than three years after moving its back-office operations to Kansas City, Missouri, Sedgwick is poised to close its facility in the city as the firm prepares to dissolve.
November 25, 2017 at 06:32 PM
20 minute read
Sedgwick, which has announced plans to close its doors, is poised to permanently disband its back-office operations center in Kansas City, Missouri, on Jan. 20.
The move by the San Francisco-based Am Law 200 firm will eliminate 75 jobs at the facility, which opened in mid-2014. The looming layoffs were reported in a Missouri state regulatory filing dated Nov. 20, which is when Sedgwick reportedly told its employees that the 85-year-old partnership would cease operations in early January.
Sedgwick does not have any lawyers working out of its back office in Kansas City. Two sources knowledgeable about matters at the struggling firm told The American Lawyer that U.K.-based Clyde & Co has been in talks to acquire a group of Sedgwick's insurance lawyers after Sedgwick officially dissolves next year.
Legal Week, a London-based sibling publication of The American Lawyer, recently reported that Clyde & Co and fellow British firm DAC Beachcroft are in the running to acquire Sedgwick's 13-lawyer London office. Clyde & Co, which has been on an expansion kick lately by launching an office in Bristol, England, and setting up shop in Indonesia, declined to comment on that report, as did DAC Beachcroft.
Sedgwick's head count has been slashed within the past year to fewer than 160 lawyers, a 39 percent drop from 12 months ago, according to data compiled by ALM Legal Intelligence. That is by far the largest drop in total lawyers among Am Law 200 firms during that period. Sedgwick has lost at least 49 partners, 60 associates and 19 counsel in 2017, a number that will undoubtedly rise within the next month.
The closure of Sedgwick's back office in Kansas City, which was home to the bulk of the firm's administrative operations, follows a similar fate that befell former staffers at now-defunct Bingham McCutchen. After Morgan, Lewis & Bockius agreed to absorb a large number of Bingham McCutchen lawyers and other legal professionals in late 2014, the former began letting go of employees working out of a back-office space in Lexington, Kentucky. Morgan Lewis eventually unloaded the Bingham McCutchen back office to a client in January 2016.
Sedgwick said its decision to dissolve was in the best interests of those still at the firm.
“We have concluded that the best way to allow our lawyers to continue providing great service to our clients is by ceasing operations and moving to other excellent law firms,” Sedgwick said in a statement. “We are pleased that most of our lawyers and staff have opportunities with very fine firms.”
Sedgwick, which has announced plans to close its doors, is poised to permanently disband its back-office operations center in Kansas City, Missouri, on Jan. 20.
The move by the San Francisco-based
Sedgwick does not have any lawyers working out of its back office in Kansas City. Two sources knowledgeable about matters at the struggling firm told The American Lawyer that U.K.-based
Legal Week, a London-based sibling publication of The American Lawyer, recently reported that
Sedgwick's head count has been slashed within the past year to fewer than 160 lawyers, a 39 percent drop from 12 months ago, according to data compiled by ALM Legal Intelligence. That is by far the largest drop in total lawyers among
The closure of Sedgwick's back office in Kansas City, which was home to the bulk of the firm's administrative operations, follows a similar fate that befell former staffers at now-defunct
Sedgwick said its decision to dissolve was in the best interests of those still at the firm.
“We have concluded that the best way to allow our lawyers to continue providing great service to our clients is by ceasing operations and moving to other excellent law firms,” Sedgwick said in a statement. “We are pleased that most of our lawyers and staff have opportunities with very fine firms.”
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