Legal industry still waiting for turnaround

Attended an Alameda County Bar Association seminar about where the legal industry is at today.  It was mostly attended by attorneys from smaller firms and solos.   Some of the solos were a product of the layoffs decimating the legal industry.

Takeaways:

Bad news: legal industry revenue way down, big law firm are hurting and there maybe more layoffs to come.  Things have not turned around, yet.  Areas hardest hist are M&A, transactional, real estate law.  Litigation hasn’t been as recession proof as reputation suggested.  Big companies pushing lawyers to settle cases because they don’t want incur costs of ongoing litigation.

Good news: Not clear that smaller firms and solo are being hit as badly.  Push for by Fortune 500 companies for alternative fee arrangements impacting big firms and may lead to innovation in the industry.  Promising practice areas are: bankruptcy, employment law, IP, tax and immigration.  Smart, targeted marketing still works.

Retail outlet closures surge

“The International Council of Shopping Centers said 6,913 retail stores — of all types — announced closures last year, compared with 4,603 in 2007.”

Article:

Half of auto suppliers looking at bankruptcy

Reuters reports that according to a study by A.J. Kearney, more than half of U.S. auto suppliers face bankruptcy in 2009 which could result in the loss of more than one million jobs.

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Downturn hits Google: end of free food next?

Google has fired contractors, recruiters and may cut engineering jobs next. They have shuttered a bunch products including Google video, Dodgeball, Jaiku and others.

When will Googlers start bringing their bag lunches from home?

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Layoffs update: Jan. 8th

About 500 Best Buy HQ employees accept buyouts

Parker Poe lays off 28 employees

AK Steel to lay off about 45 in Middletown

Andersen Corp. announces layoffs

Trane to lay off 111 in Clarksville

Gamesa cutting 184 jobs in Bucks

Architecture firm Burt Hill cuts 50 jobs in Pittsburgh office

Schlumberger begins job cuts

Sprint lays off 160 in Virginia

6,800 IT jobs cut

Freightliner to lay off 190

Build-A-Bear lays of 27 at headquarters

ON Semiconductor announces layoffs, restructuring

Intermec laying off 150

Daimler Trucks to lay off 2,137 here

Layoffs update: Jan 5th

Perceptive Software lays off 53

Cigna cutting 1,100 jobs

Building Materials to shuffle operations, lay off 260

Northstar Neuroscience shutting down

Precoat Metals to shutter McKeesport plant

Getrag lays off 141 workers in Maiden

YRC Worldwide layoff 160 workers

Layoffs update: Dec 30th

Wells cuts 53 jobs in Arizona

QVC axing 500 distribution center jobs in West Chester

Closing of Exel site in Phila. to eliminate 131 jobs

GSO call center laying off 73

AMD reports more job cuts, higher restructuring costs

Holiday spending down significantly

I have been skeptical of the National Retail Federation’s reports about holiday shopping.  First, they reported that people wouldn’t be increasing their holiday spending as much as anticipated.  Then they reported that people were “procrastinating” in making their purchases.  They haven’t released any post mortems on the holiday shopping season but they did request Obama offer a sales tax holiday as part of his stimulus package to help retailers.

However, there is a report out on holiday spending and it isn’t pretty.  While sales overall were down between 5% and 8%, that was helped by the decline in consumer prices, driven by lower energy costs.  In the apparel, electronics and luxury sectors, spending was down between 20%- 35%.  Ouch.

Full report

Layoffs update: Dec 19th

Ruby Tuesday will close about 70 locations

Kaiser Aluminum to close Tulsa facility

Tenet affiliate cuts 30 jobs in S.C.

ASML laying off 1,000

Metro to lay off 600, cut service

Sovereign Bancorp slashing 1,000 jobs

Piedmont Medical Center cuts 30 jobs

TomoTherapy cuts workforce by 12 percent

Electronic Arts to cut 1,000 jobs, close 9 locations

Layoffs Update: Dec. 18th

Targanta to lay off 75 percent of staff

Employees laid off at FiveRuns Corp.

Piedmont Hospital halts project, will cut jobs

Vanda Pharmaceuticals cuts half its staff

Caterpillar plants in Clayton, Sanford to have temporary layoffs

Plug Power lays off 90

Pentair cutting 1,600 jobs, 110 in MN

Whitman-Walker lays off 25%

GSO plant to close, cut 143 jobs

Georgia-Pacific to lay off Palatka workers

AvalonBay cuts jobs, scales back

DealerTrack to close Wilmington operation, idle 32