I-6 Hot Topic: The New Economic Reality: Opportunity or Catastrophe?

This program will identify the challenges facing different segments of the legal community in the current economic crisis. Panelists will examine how the difficulties realized at their individual organizations are related to each other and predict changes to the legal landscape through a series of focused questions and answers. As of May 8, there were 3,741 lawyers and 5,851 staff—including librarians—laid off from major U.S. law firms. Firms have deferred start dates for new associates. Bonuses and salaries have been cut or frozen. Summer associate classes are smaller and programs shorter. Law schools are scrambling to find employment for recent graduates and alumni left jobless. Clients are challenging the use of the billable hour and classifying Lexis and Westlaw as overhead. No stratum of the legal community is unaffected.