Editorial Cartoon of the Day

Gary Varvel is the editorial cartoonist for The Indianapolis Star. His cartoons are nationally syndicated through Creators Syndicate and have appeared on CNN and in Newsweek, The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Times, National Review, World magazine and Sports Illustrated.

The Lawyer Layoff Leagues

The hemorrhaging just won’t stop. When Black Thursday hit back in February, a very naive, hopeful part of us thought we’d seen the nadir (good Scrabble word, nadir). After all, it hardly seemed it could get worse: In the days leading up to and including Black Thursday (Feb. 12, 2009), we witnessed the axing of 828 law-firm associates and staff.
But it wasn’t to be. More cuts followed in the ensuing weeks.

Then came today. We’re not sure what to call it (Black Monday’s been taken, right? And Blue Monday is the the name of a famous droning New Order song), but it’s ugly. For today alone, according to reporting by Above the Law, already the number has reached 731. The main participants: White & Case, which today announced it was laying off 200 associates and 200 staff; Morgan Lewis (55 attorneys and 161 staff); and K&L Gates (36 associates and 79 staff) - go to the WSJ blog for the rest of the story...