MoFo cuts 201 jobs in latest round of layoffs

Morrison & Foerster announced today that it is making 53 lawyers redundant across its offices in the US.

The US firm is also making job cuts in Europe, with one position eliminated in Brussels and up to 10, including five lawyers, in its London office.

The firm, the latest in a rapidly growing line of firms to announce layoffs, confirmed the redundancies in a statement after news of the layoffs were posted on California legal blog Legal Pad.

It said the firm was reducing its legal and non-legal staffing in the US to align itself with client needs in what it called, “this extraordinary economic downturn”.

“We notified 53 attorneys and 148 staff of the termination of their employment,” the statement added. “These decisions are exceedingly painful, but necessary to assure that we address the current economic challenge from a position of financial conservatism and strength.”

The statement continued, saying that despite the job cuts the firm remained strong and confident about its future.
“Our deep bench of legal talent, geographic and practice diversity and healthy balance sheet continue to serve us well and enable the firm to compete effectively,” it said. “We remain committed to serving our clients efficiently while investing strategically in the development of the firm.”

Last month, The Lawyer reported Morrison & Foerster’s financial results for the 2008 financial year (13 January 2009).

Revenue at the firm grew 2 per cent, from $894m in 2007 up to $911m last year but average profit dropped by 13 per cent, from $1.27m in 2007 down to $1.1m in 2008.

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