Plaintiffs Firms Still Hiring for Securities Class Actions

While so many firms are making the news for layoffs, a number of plaintiffs firms with securities class action practices are hiring associates.

For instance, thanks to an influx of large financial and securities fraud cases  Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann (in New Orleans, New York City and SanDiego) has added eight associates firmwide since mid-2008.   In that time, the firm also hired four counsel.  The firm is among those that report seeing more defense-side resumes lately.  The firm has recently been appointed lead or co-lead counsel in securities fraud actions involving New Century Financial, Washington Mutual and Lehman Brothers, among others.   For full story click here.

And it’s a reason why the D.C. and NYC contract attorney markets and other metro markets across the country have seen a slight uptick in work.   And we say “slight” because despite the uptick in Atlanta, Chicago, Texas and the West Coast the overall the market is still dead compared to the past trend we have all experienced.   We’ll have a full analysis tomorrow when we publish our review of where things stand in Temp Town across the country.    

We continue to follow Kevin Lacroix and his blog D&O Diary (click here) which is far and away the best coverage of the securities class action market, the financial fraud cases, etc.   Many of these cases are in the doc review stage.  He has been tracking an increasing trend: the move by inhouse and outside counsel to advise their clients on how to attempt to resolve disputes erupting in virtually every sector of the financial and business community.  There has been a wave of webinars with economists, senior litigators, turnaround specialists, bankruptcy counsel, academics, veteran Government regulatory lawyers, and alternative dispute professionals who explore the origins of the current crisis, the response of the regulators, courts and legislators on restructuring, market based solutions, the inevitable litigation and the availability of alternative means to resolve disputes. 

And for contract attorneys who must really think “outside the box” to survive as the industry folds in on itself we will begin tomorrow to explore other options/opportunities.