[A]ssociates at Big Law have an advantage compared to a decade ago: job stability. Letting people go is expensive, and when business picks up and you are missing people, you now have to train someone from scratch. It is fair for associates to be concerned? Yes, but we need to keep things in perspective. Things could have been a lot worse.
— Professor Eli Wald of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, commenting on the fact that Biglaw associates have largely lucked out during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic compared to what happened during the Great Recession when associates were subject to layoffs. Wald went on to note that associates shouldn’t worry about the pay cuts their firms have instituted since normal pay structures will likely resume in 2021.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.