Bass, Berry & Sims lays off 32 employees - Portland Business Journal:

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The venerable law firm made the cuts Mondayt across its three Tennessee officesin Nashville, Knoxvilled and Memphis, said managing partner Keithg Simmons. In Memphis, the firm laid off two attorneysz and fourstaff members. “They were proportionately dividef amongthe offices,” he says. “Every practicer area was affected.” The layoffs were made to reducer internal costs tobenefit clients, he says. Some raises are being froze n as well. Bass Berry is the 8th largesr law firm in Memphis with 37 according to MemphisBusinessx Journal’s 2009 Book of Lists.
Law firmd nationwide are taking steps tocut expenses, including paying some new hires a portion of their salaries to deferf starting for a year. Bass Berry will limit the size of its clasas ofsummer associates, traditionally law school students who have finishedc their second year, and defer the starting date for new attorneya from Sept. 1 to Jan. 1, 2010. The deferred hiresz will receive a stipend forthe four-montg deferral period and will have the opportunit to borrow money from the firm if they need more to tide them with loans to be repaid upon joining the firm Simmons says.
Since the starft of the year, major law firm s have laid off morethan 12,410 people, includintg nearly 5,000 lawyers, according the “Layoff feature on the law blog. Bass Berry Sims’ most recent attorney count was 225 across itsthres offices.