Perhaps the most troubling decision for any partnership’s management committee is the determination to force partners from the partnership. The thought of terminating partners because business is slow was once unthinkable. Today, the legal world is a much scarier place than it was only a year ago, and the last remnants of the “covenant” that formerly governed a law firm’s relationship with its partners are under siege. Layoffs continue at a record pace, and law firms and partners struggle to figure out what’s next. If one still believes that the practice of law is a profession, rather than a mere vocation, do law firms owe their departing colleagues something other than a pat on the back and three months’ severance? This article examines what law firms can do to assist their partners as they show them the door.
Designation for Departure
There’s an old adage that says the best way to find a job is to have a job, and that certainly holds true in the legal profession. Allowing a partner designated for layoff to remain formally associated with the firm for some specified (or unspecified) period of time significantly enhances that partner’s value in the lateral partner marketplace.
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