Legal Commentary

Economy Improving? Words Say Yes, Actions Say No.

By Patrick J. Lamb

You have marvel at the ability lawyers have with sleight of hand.  Here on the left, we will tell you the economy is improving.  Ignore the additional layoffs, deferred start dates, cancellation of on-campus interviewing, closing of offices and other actions taken with my right hand. 

In June, nearly 60% of the respondents in a Citi Private Bank survey of 133 Managing Partners said the economy would improve in the second half of the year.  Sounds encouraging, eh?

Just this week, there have been further layoffs (DLA Piper, among others), deferred start dates for the current crop of summer associates (Orrick--2012), and dramatic reductions in on-campus interviewing (e,g, Cravath not interviewing at U of Va.).  A day does not go by without multiple stories of large law firms scaling back even more than they have already, sometimes dramatically.

Gee, that sounds an awful lot like things are getting better, doesn't it?  As Momma taught me, actions speak louder than words.

Full post as published by In Search of Perfect Client Service on July 10, 2009 (boomark / email).