Typical Severance for BigLaw? Forum

[Anonymous User]

What’s the typical severance package for BigLaw (how many number of months base salary, how long on website, etc)?

- Layoff at a BigLaw firm (v40) out of a large city (e.g., NY/DC/SF)
- Senior associate
- Was told doing good work and believe it was cost-cutting driven
- Not given a heads up. I don’t know if that’s common or not.

[Anonymous User]

What practice group are you in? We're you slow for the the while/what did your hours look like?

[jotarokujo]

i believe for juniors it's 3 months. by senior i think you should be able to get 5 months typically

[Anonymous User]

As a junior, I got two months and a week. Stealthed Thanksgiving week, so got that week, December, and January. Profile stayed up until January.

[Anonymous User]

As a junior, I got two months and a week. Stealthed Thanksgiving week, so got that week, December, and January. Profile stayed up until January.

I just got stealthed from a CA mainstay. Got 4-8 weeks. Sorry its a range so I don't out myself.

[Anonymous User]

A bit concerning seeing so many stealths...can you guys speak to what your hours looked like prior to? Feedback on work product?

[Anonymous User]

As a junior, I got two months and a week. Stealthed Thanksgiving week, so got that week, December, and January. Profile stayed up until January.

I just got stealthed from a CA mainstay. Got 4-8 weeks. Sorry its a range so I don't out myself.

My hours were 40-50. Average was around 45. Last review everyone said they enjoyed working with me. No complaints as to WP and had lateraled to the firm. Had been there less than one year.

[Anonymous User]

i believe for juniors it's 3 months. by senior i think you should be able to get 5 months typically

That is a lot. I figured those types of severance are when you are getting kicked out because they don't see a future for you here or whatever. When people are getting stealthed because of financial issues idk if they're going to let a senior associate pocket like 200k.

[Anonymous User]

As a junior, I got two months and a week. Stealthed Thanksgiving week, so got that week, December, and January. Profile stayed up until January.

I just got stealthed from a CA mainstay. Got 4-8 weeks. Sorry its a range so I don't out myself.

My hours were 40-50. Average was around 45. Last review everyone said they enjoyed working with me. No complaints as to WP and had lateraled to the firm. Had been there less than one year.

Do you mean 40-50 per week or month?

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

i believe for juniors it's 3 months. by senior i think you should be able to get 5 months typically

That is a lot. I figured those types of severance are when you are getting kicked out because they don't see a future for you here or whatever. When people are getting stealthed because of financial issues idk if they're going to let a senior associate pocket like 200k.

5 is a lot, but they might do that. As bad as biglaw can be, reputable firms try to stay on good terms with former associates.

[Anonymous User]

This was many years ago at this point, but I got one month from the “it’s not working out” talk to find a new job, with website time contingent on basically being a good trooper about it (not telling others at the firm, looking for a new job in good faith, etc.). Though this was presaged a couple months before by the softer “let’s talk about how things are going” chat. Was part of a decent portion of my classmates who all got the same push, despite at least in my case having a good review only a few months prior. Biglaw, one of the top firms in my non-NY major market, precipitated by business slowing down due to a combo of retirements/partner departures/general business cycle.

[Anonymous User]

i believe for juniors it's 3 months. by senior i think you should be able to get 5 months typically

That is a lot. I figured those types of severance are when you are getting kicked out because they don't see a future for you here or whatever. When people are getting stealthed because of financial issues idk if they're going to let a senior associate pocket like 200k.

5 is a lot, but they might do that. As bad as biglaw can be, reputable firms try to stay on good terms with former associates.

I had five months when it happened to me. They said three originally, but I asked for more and they agreed. I had the good fortune to know someone who was laid off/stealthed before me, and he gave me the low down on what they had agreed to. Someone else at the firm was widely rumored at the time to have threatened to sue in a similar scenario, so I think in addition to wanting to stay on good terms with departing associates, they also worry that you would actually dispute the nature of the departure and they'd have to deal with the reputational damage and extra costs. An extra month or two of associate salary is cheap to avoid those risks.

Also, circumstances do matter. If there are any health issues on the record, a young family to support, any defensible discrimination interpretation to the events, the firm will be even more eager to have an agreed departure.

[Anonymous User]

A bit concerning seeing so many stealths...can you guys speak to what your hours looked like prior to? Feedback on work product?

TLS users who weren't around in '08 seem to use "stealth" any time someone gets pushed out, so I'd take it with a grain of salt.

[Anonymous User]

A bit concerning seeing so many stealths...can you guys speak to what your hours looked like prior to? Feedback on work product?

TLS users who weren't around in '08 seem to use "stealth" any time someone gets pushed out, so I'd take it with a grain of salt.

Imo it's still a stealth if they give you website time. Which is good! I know it sucks to get canned but I was canned once from a previous job and got literally escorted out the door, had to threaten to sue to get 3 weeks of severance. It sucks but it happens. People get fired. At least in biglaw you can move on easier.

To the topic - I have a friend who got stealthed for work product issues and still got 3 months. Midlevel.

[Anonymous User]

Stealthed from a (failing) boutique on the West Coast within the last couple years. Was given an indeterminate number of months—originally pegged at six or so—to find a new job. Started feeling some pressure from the management committee around the end of month one or two, because firm leadership sucked. (Hard.) Fortunately had started looking prior to the stealthing, and was basically squared away within the first month. (Enjoyed cashing their checks for another couple months afterwards, having already accepted a better job.)

[Anonymous User]

Probably silly to admit, but getting severance sounds like a great outcome. I am so beyond ready to leave biglaw that I'm ready to rage quit. Would be great if I could leave and get severance.

[Anonymous User]

Probably silly to admit, but getting severance sounds like a great outcome. I am so beyond ready to leave biglaw that I'm ready to rage quit. Would be great if I could leave and get severance.

Right there with you. Wish the firms would take volunteers.

[Anonymous User]

As a junior, I got two months and a week. Stealthed Thanksgiving week, so got that week, December, and January. Profile stayed up until January.

I just got stealthed from a CA mainstay. Got 4-8 weeks. Sorry its a range so I don't out myself.

My hours were 40-50. Average was around 45. Last review everyone said they enjoyed working with me. No complaints as to WP and had lateraled to the firm. Had been there less than one year.

OP I’m really sorry. My current firm (with offices in those major cities) is hiring in transactional. Not sure if that’s your practice, but happy to pass along details if so.

I’m assuming 45/month? If so, no warning on hours?

I’m stunned that they didn’t give it a year. Did you feel like the issue was a result of not integrating or business slowdown or something else?

I am about to lateral and this is definitely making me pause.

[Anonymous User]

A bit concerning seeing so many stealths...can you guys speak to what your hours looked like prior to? Feedback on work product?

TLS users who weren't around in '08 seem to use "stealth" any time someone gets pushed out, so I'd take it with a grain of salt.

Imo it's still a stealth if they give you website time. Which is good! I know it sucks to get canned but I was canned once from a previous job and got literally escorted out the door, had to threaten to sue to get 3 weeks of severance. It sucks but it happens. People get fired. At least in biglaw you can move on easier.

To the topic - I have a friend who got stealthed for work product issues and still got 3 months. Midlevel.

“Stealthed for work product issues” is the oxymoron. Stealth has to do with whether the employee sees it coming. Good reviews, then being unexpectedly fired for supposed work product issues = stealthed. Bad reviews/low hours = laid off or fired, just like in any other field. And either way, website time is just a form of severance to keep someone’s best option from being a lawsuit.

[objctnyrhnr]

Are we starting to see widespread stealthing due to the economic situation, or are we not there (yet)?

Slightly off topic of course but I’m loosely contemplating a lateral move as a 7-8th year (not corporate) and this stuff is one thing that has me hesitating.

[Anonymous User]

Similar situation here.

I’m told that severance pay is paid like payroll, so not a lump sum. It ends once a job is found. Is that common for biglaw (same, v40 large firm)? Been at firm for 7+years.

If firms were paying out 3-6 months in 2008, I would expect more now especially with inflation.

[Anonymous User]

Are we starting to see widespread stealthing due to the economic situation, or are we not there (yet)?

Slightly off topic of course but I’m loosely contemplating a lateral move as a 7-8th year (not corporate) and this stuff is one thing that has me hesitating.

The received wisdom as I've always understood it is to lateral in the good times (easiest way to increase your compensation trajectory) but stay put in the bad (because you have a built-up store of good reputation and a network and many firms take a LIFO perspective for cuts). That's all subject to a ton of qualifiers but that's the general advice I've consistently heard. Six months ago I was also thinking about (possibly) lateraling too (I'm a senior like you in litigation) and was opening myself up to conversations w/ recruiters. Right now that's not on my mind at all given the economic uncertainty of what feels like at least the next year or two. Which decision is helped by the fact that the lateral market feels like it's cooling off anyway; have been getting far fewer calls and e-mails from recruiters than I was six months ago.

[Heineken]

What do you expect from BigLaw? A microscopic percentage will make partner. The rest are humiliated. Where is the prestige when no partner takes an interest in your career and you get mind-numbing paperwork?

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

What do you expect from BigLaw? A microscopic percentage will make partner. The rest are humiliated. Where is the prestige when no partner takes an interest in your career and you get mind-numbing paperwork?

Given that most associates at my firm range from bad to mediocre in terms of performance, I wouldn’t call their eventual firing “humiliating.” I’m a good associate but even I expect to be canned eventually, which will not humiliate me in any way.

[Heineken]

You may be miles ahead of the typical BigLaw guy but for the majority of them, not making partner may be the first time they felt the sting of failure. That's why I carefully selected the word humiliating. Going in, they may have known the odds of making partner in NYC, but they foolishly thought they would be in the lucky few. And seeing others come to the firm after you and make partner before you, I can't think of a better word than humiliating.