Furloughs May Be Smarter Than Layoffs

Furloughs May Be Smarter Than Layoffs
While not necessarily within the scope of this blog, the topic of this article is highly relevant to the problems many law firms that practice globally or internationally face. Given the cost of attracting, training, and severance packages (if people are terminated), it would seem there must be a better way to deal with the problems facing most firms these days. This article might offer a viable alternative that tends to preserve the investment that most firms make in their attorneys. I should also note that many firms, Orrick is one that comes to mind, say that their staff reductions are not performance related but are driven by economic reality. Thus, the people they are letting go are good people who would have been retained but for the economy. Most of us believe the economy will improve. The question is when, and what do you have to do in the interim until it does.