Law firms taking PPP money
Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:54 pm
Smart? Immoral? Tone deaf?
https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2020 ... ppp-loans/
https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2020 ... ppp-loans/
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Not to lick the boot too much, but the fact that the firm's busy doesn't really tell you whether the clients will pay their bills (or when). Many firms probably do have cash flow problems right about now. Taking the loan's better than laying off a bunch of staff (or stealthing associates).Anonymous User wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 11:57 pmAs an associate at a firm that cut salaries and withheld bonus, I was somewhat angry to learn the firm got $2-5m (I’m assuming closer to $5m) in PPP. We’ve been just as busy as pre-COVID, so a lot of us are understandably annoyed.
Quoted anon. Collections have been fine, according to the chair. And we have access to collections, and clients have been paying every month. There was a slight decrease in April, but that’s it. Sorry, should’ve mentioned that above.cheaptilts wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:09 amNot to lick the boot too much, but the fact that the firm's busy doesn't really tell you whether the clients will pay their bills (or when). Many firms probably do have cash flow problems right about now. Taking the loan's better than laying off a bunch of staff (or stealthing associates).Anonymous User wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 11:57 pmAs an associate at a firm that cut salaries and withheld bonus, I was somewhat angry to learn the firm got $2-5m (I’m assuming closer to $5m) in PPP. We’ve been just as busy as pre-COVID, so a lot of us are understandably annoyed.
It’s not dumb if they’ve fired/furloughed people.Excellent117 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:31 pmShaming any business, large or small, for taking PPP money is incredibly dumb, especially when there's nearly $140 billion still left in the program fund.
ExplainAnonymous User wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:01 pmIt’s not dumb if they’ve fired/furloughed people.Excellent117 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:31 pmShaming any business, large or small, for taking PPP money is incredibly dumb, especially when there's nearly $140 billion still left in the program fund.
The fact that the program is called the "Paycheck Protection Program" is likely why quoted poster has a problem with it.cheaptilts wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:13 pmExplainAnonymous User wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:01 pmIt’s not dumb if they’ve fired/furloughed people.Excellent117 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:31 pmShaming any business, large or small, for taking PPP money is incredibly dumb, especially when there's nearly $140 billion still left in the program fund.
This assumes that further layoffs would not occur absent the loan. That’s a pretty unfounded assumption, no?dabigchina wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:19 pmThe fact that the program is called the "Paycheck Protection Program" is likely why quoted poster has a problem with it.cheaptilts wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:13 pmExplainAnonymous User wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:01 pmIt’s not dumb if they’ve fired/furloughed people.Excellent117 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:31 pmShaming any business, large or small, for taking PPP money is incredibly dumb, especially when there's nearly $140 billion still left in the program fund.
You can, of course, take the position that these are profit seeking enterprises and that leaving free money on the table is dumb. However, it is not unreasonable to be at least a little annoyed, especially if the firm is doing well otherwise.