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While many law firms are cutting jobs or pay to reduce expenses in an uncertain economy, some have made an express commitment against doing so.

Making that promise in a time of uncertainty, while the economy suffers under stay-home orders designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, can reduce employee stress, and create goodwill and loyalty among employees, some firms said. In Big Law, Cahill Gordon & Reindel; Vinson & Elkins; Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson; Perkins Coie; and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan have all confirmed that they have no plans to lay off employees.

Some midsize and smaller firms are taking similar steps, including Houston litigation firms Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing and McDowell Hetherington, as well as virtual firm Culhane Meadows.

"We want to hold onto those folks," said John Zavitsanos, managing partner of Ahmad Zavitsanos, which has notified its employees that the firm will not furlough or lay off anyone. "We've sent out a few memos and what we told them was we do not plan to lay anybody off, but in return we expect you to do your part to minimize the financial impact to the firm."

McDowell Hetherington took a definitive step in late March when leadership promised employees that the firm would not cut jobs or pay for the next 90 days. David McDowell, a founder of the 52-lawyer firm, said leadership wanted to give employees, including associates, "some sense of certainty" in a time of great uncertainty. He said the firm's partners were eager to make sure everyone is going to continue to work.

"The announcement was for 90 days, but we are committed until this thing is over," McDowell said, adding that the partners will shoulder the burden of any financial hit.

While many other firms have not made cuts, law firm consultant Kent Zimmermann, of Zeughauser Group, said some may say nothing at all because they want to keep all options on table.

At New York's Walden Macht & Haran, founder and managing partner Jim Walden—who just recovered from an illness presumed to be COVID-19—said in a recent interview that the firm is in a good position and he does not expect to have to make layoffs or salary cuts.

And Culhane Meadows, an all-partner, virtual firm, will not lay off any support staff, said  managing partner James Meadows. Because all partners work remotely, the 72-lawyer firm has very low overhead.

"We don't have to change the way we work. Our back-office team is just as busy this week as they were a month ago," he said.

Bill Hines, managing partner of New Orleans-based Jones Walker, said his firm, which now has over 350 lawyers, survived the devastation of Hurricane Katrina without laying off anyone. And it has no plans to lay people off now.

"I tell people we had a dress rehearsal for this, which was Katrina," Hines said.

Cahill Gordon confirmed that it notified associates last week that the firm is in a strong financial position, and is not considering any actions to manage expenses by furloughing lawyers or reducing attorney salaries.

And Quinn Emanuel, in confirming that it is not planning any layoffs, said in a statement: "Our goal as a firm is to keep the entire QE community together."

A spokesperson for Perkins Coie explained the firm's choice in a statement Monday: "We are committed to our people. We invest in the professional development of all our lawyers and staff with an eye toward the long-term success of the firm and because we take a long-term approach, our goal is to avoid layoffs."

Vinson & Elkins confirmed that associates were assured April 3 that the firm is not at this time considering reducing associate salaries or furloughing associates. Fried Frank confirmed that it has no plans to implement layoffs or pay cuts in the immediate future, but the firm is looking at some other opportunities for cost savings.

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