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Thanks all.

Everything will not be ok, that is just what people say to prevent a panic

or maybe it will, but obviously you should start looking elsewhere, maybe even wherever that big client ended up going

Seconded. If the client liked you and you had done good work for them, the firm that has won their business might welcome you with open arms. If you are after partnership in a few years, a shrinking practice is absolutely the worst place to be.

No it's not ok. 10%? Ok i might believe them. 50%? Nah they will begin laying off people soon.

LondonCallingV10 wrote:Seconded. If the client liked you and you had done good work for them, the firm that has won their business might welcome you with open arms. If you are after partnership in a few years, a shrinking practice is absolutely the worst place to be.

Don't think this is necessarily true. Some of these clients are huge ($b revenue per year) and after a merger, the surviving entity would already have had a firm they like using and want to minimize costs associated with using multiple firms. Of course that still doesn't change the reality of the situation that layoffs are likely once a client is lost.

I was thinking more that a firm will always be interested in a lateral candidate who has worked on deals for clients that firm works with/wants to work with. We often invite a lateral candidate for interview on that basis, where we might not otherwise have done so on the basis of their CV alone. Of course if they don't interview well you wouldn't hire them but it never hurts to have lots of people in the team with different contacts and relationships at an important client. And a mid-level, senior associate with experience of how a particular client likes to work can be very valuable.