Jul 15, 2009
Hogan has a tough week
Hogan & Hartson has not been having a good week.
Last Friday, word got out that the firm had shown 30 senior associates the door. (I’ve made three calls to the firm since then to find out whether anyone in the Baltimore office was affected, but I haven’t heard back. Take from that what you will.)
Then yesterday, Above the Law posted a Hogan memo announcing that the current summer associates who get job offers in the Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia offices will come on board in the fall of 2011, not 2010. No word yet on Baltimore. (See above re: me not getting called back.) Hogan is not alone on this move, by the way.
It could be worse. This firm has canceled its on-campus recruiting for the fall and its 2010 summer associate program.
Several of the biggest firms in MD are also pushing out long time rainmaking partners whose areas of practices are experiencing a downturn. Many law firm leaders have the “what have you done lately” mentality and don’t realize the natural ebb and flow of the economic cycle. Unfortunately, these leaders set compensation too high during the boom times and then have “no nuts for the winter.” I think most of these people need to study how a squirrel survives the winter. Oops, all of them did in elementary school.