Top Five Law Firm Layoff Quotes

Sure, hindsight is 20/20, but what about foresight? The Legal Intelligencer published an article in August of 2007 wondering whether associate layoffs were imminent. Well, we already know that answer now. However, let’s look at some gems from 2007.

1. “I would be surprised if there was any kind of a wave of layoffs.”
2. “[Y]ou just don’t let go of [M&A] talent in a downturn.”
3. “[L]ayoffs going on in the financial side of the world…could, however, result in more, not less, work for at least the immediate future.”
4. “Rather than … a burst of a bubble, we’re hoping for a soft landing.”
5. “[S]hort of a ‘meltdown of the global economy,’ firms aren’t going to face layoffs.

Ah, what a different world we lived in 2 years ago. I particularly love the one about “short of a ‘meltdown in the global economy'” which is exactly what occurred. I mean talk about being 100% ironically right. So, what does this all mean? It’s pretty difficult to predict an environment different from the one we are currently in. At some point, the economy will emerge from this slump and we’ll look back at the people prognosticating more gloom-and-doom and wonder why they were so wrong.