The National Law Journal Reports Biggest Drop Ever in Total Employment at NLJ 250, Nation's Largest Law Firms

Job cuts were even deeper for associates; the number of associates fell 8.7 percent, to 61,733 from 67,648. The total number of partners, however, rose slightly by roughly 1 percent.

"This year's NLJ 250 starkly shows how the recession has affected employment at the nation's largest law firms," said David Brown, editor in chief of The National Law Journal. "This is the first time in the 32 years that we've collected this data that firms have shed so many lawyers -- more than 6,000 during the last year."

Regaining the No. 1 position with the most lawyers on the NLJ 250 was Baker & McKenzie, which had 3,949 attorneys. The firm had maintained that position since the inception of the NLJ 250 until 2007, when DLA Piper edged it out. DLA Piper fell to the No. 2 spot this year, with 3,450 attorneys, a drop of 7.3 percent from 2008.

Latham & Watkins shed 444 lawyers, the largest decrease on the list, and slid from No. 4 to No. 6 in the rankings. The firm with the largest percentage decrease was Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, which shrank by 26.4 percent and dropped to 95^th place in the rankings from the 58^th slot last year.

No. 250 on this year¹s list was newcomer Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt, in Portland, Ore. The cut-off to make the 2009 NLJ 250 was 164 attorneys.

Almost half of the NLJ 250 firms reported that they deferred employment of a total of 2,784 associates this year, representing 42 percent of the law graduates who would have composed the incoming first-year associate class.

Results were based on attorney census information provided by the nation¹s 300 largest law firms between Oct. 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008. The complete downloadable NLJ 250 database is available for purchase online at www.almlegalintelligence.com.

Founded in 1978, The National Law Journal has the largest paid circulation of any weekly publication serving the legal community. The NLJ is published by ALM.

ALM, an integrated media company, is a leading provider of specialized business news and information, focused primarily on the legal and commercial real estate sectors. ALM's market-leading brands include The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, GlobeSt.com, Insight Conferences, Law.com, Law Journal Press, LegalTech, The National Law Journal and Real Estate Forum. Headquartered in New York City, ALM was formed in 1997. For more information, visit www.alm.com.

ALM, The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, GlobeSt.com, Insight Conferences, Law.com, Law Journal Press, LegalTech, The National Law Journal and Real Estate Forum are trademarks or registered trademarks of ALM Media Properties, LLC.

Peters & Feldman for ALM
Lee Feldman, 203-341-8922
lfeldman@alm.com