By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

Hodgson Russ LLP, the largest law firm in Buffalo, joined the growing list of businesses hit hard by the economy, cutting more than a dozen staff of its eight offices last week. President and CEO Gary Schober confirmed the dismissals, though he was hesitant to call them layoffs.

"We did ask five attorneys and eight staff to leave last Thursday and Friday," Schober said, adding that because it was a personnel matter, he felt it was inappropriate to make any public comment offering specific reasons behind the dismissals.

Schober declined to offer specifics on how many staffers were let go from each office. The Buffalo-based firm has locations in New York City, Florida and Toronto.

"We like to think of ourselves as being one firm, and we don't like to distinguish between what happens in one office versus another," he said, adding that things in Buffalo are better than elsewhere.

Schober pointed to some areas of the firm's operations that are seeing business as usual.

"We did have our summer program, which was the largest class we have had here at Hodgson Russ," he said. "As a result of that program we have made offers to eight new associates, and while I believe that overall, hiring will be reduced at the attorney level, we are following through with our offer to hire those people in 2009."

Asked whether or not an uptick in the economy might lead to the firm to bring back any of those whose jobs were cut, Schober said it was "premature to even think about that, but anything is possible."

He emphasized that his firm has undertaken several other cost-cutting measures in the wake of the economic downturn, measures he hopes will leave the firm in a strong position when the economy rebounds.

"We are cutting expenses, we are strengthening our business by reevaluating our internal policies and, most importantly, we are spending a lot of time increasing our business development efforts," he explained.

At least for now, the move to cut staff at Hodgson Russ appears to be an isolated incident. Representatives for several large and midsized Buffalo law firms - Phillips Lytle LLP, Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel LLP, Goldberg Segalla LLP, Hurwitz & Fine PC and Kenney Shelton Liptak Nowak LLP - said they have not laid off staff or attorneys in response to the recession.

Managing Partner David McNamara said Phillips Lytle has no plans to lay off staff and has extended offers to several new attorneys to join the firm in the fall.

"We don't have any concerns about excess capacity right now, and I just don't see layoffs on the horizon," he said, noting that the firm has in some cases shifted lawyers from practice groups where business may be slow to those where there is sufficient work.

Tom Liptak, a partner with Kenney Shelton, said his firm continues to grow during the economic downturn, adding lawyers to accommodate a growing workload.

"Lustig & Brown recently dissolved, and my firm just brought over two partners and a very senior litigation partner as well as a senior litigation associate" from the small defense firm, he said. "Within the past three weeks, we have added five attorneys total."