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Goodwin Is Conducting 'Performance Reviews' That Have Resulted In Job Cuts

The line between layoffs and performance-based cuts is growing awfully blurry.

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Goodwin Procter kicked off 2023 with a round of layoffs, eliminating about 5% of the firm’s timekeepers, including associates and all manner other attorneys. With the band-aid ripped off, other firms began to conduct their own reductions in force, and some have started to defer their incoming associate classes. Now that we’re halfway into the year, rumors of layoffs at Goodwin have surfaced once again. What’s going on at the firm?

According to the American Lawyer, Goodwin is in the middle of performance reviews which have resulted in out-of-work associates. If that sounds like the firm is performing stealth layoffs, you may be right on the money based on past precedent.

Here are some additional details from Am Law:

One source with knowledge of the matter said the cuts were part of a biannual performance management process, which yielded fewer departures than is customary in a typical biannual review cycle.

“We conducted a reduction in force in January 2023, as widely reported at that time. We have not conducted a reduction in force since then,” Goodwin said in a statement.

The firm declined to provide any more information. As a policy, it does not comment on performance-related cuts.

How can you tell the difference between a stealth layoff and a genuine review-based termination these days? Liz Soderberg, a legal recruiter at Lateral Link, spoke to Am Law and noted that performance-related cuts are happening across firms because associates are now being held to a higher standard amid economic turbulence.

“People that in a healthy year might be floating by are on the chopping block,” Soderberg said. “We’re seeing more of that. Firms are being opportunistic. They have the advantage over talent now.”

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Best of luck to those who are being let go from Goodwin Procter.

If your firm or organization is reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff announcement that we publish.

Goodwin Performance Reviews Lead to Cuts, as Midyear Reviews Increase [American Lawyer]

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Staci ZaretskyStaci 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.

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