By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

Terminations. Layoffs. Attrition.

The region's biggest law firms offer a variety of reasons behind an overall drop in staffing over the last 12 months, but whatever the nature of the change, it's clear that the recession has taken a toll on the legal-services field locally. All but one of Buffalo's big five - Hodgson Russ LLP, Phillips Lytle LLP, Damon Morey LLP, Jaeckle Fleischmann LLP and Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP - are cutting fewer paychecks today than they were a year ago.

Overall attorney staffing at the city's five largest firms has dropped more than 6 percent in the last year. Among those firms, only Lipsitz Green maintained its 2008 employment level, losing two attorneys but adding three other staff members.

Jaeckle Fleischmann and Hodgson Russ saw the largest drops in head count. Jaeckle, based on a comparision of staffing numbers provided by the firm in 2008 with the attorney roster posted on its Web site Monday, has shed 25 attorneys from its two Western New York offices since last year. Hodgson saw a net loss of 23 staff at its downtown headquarters.

Jaeckle declined to share current staffing numbers or respond to questions. Marketing & Public Relations Administrator Donna Blaufuss said managing partner Ed Piwowarczyk was out of town and unavailable for comment.

Hodgson President and CEO Gary Schober says his firm has not laid off any employees since February, when five attorneys and eight support staff were let go. The net loss of 10 employees since that time, Schober said, is a result of attrition.

"We are a big firm, with a lot of people here, so we have had some normal comings and goings," he said. "But that's all within that range of normality, and none of which would be described as a layoff."

Schober said it has been primarily transactional work that has been down at Hodgson, and of late he is seeing those lawyers getting busier.

"I'm not going to tell you it wasn't a long year," Schober said. "But we are very proud of the decisions we've made regarding our business, and we think we have put ourselves in a better position for the future."

Damon Morey dropped its head count by five staff in the last year. Managing Partner Peter Marlette said business is up at the firm, and the reduction in staff is attrition-based.

"If someone leaves for some reason, we aren't automatically replacing them; we are questioning whether or not to go out and rehire," Marlette said. "But, knock on wood, things are still going well for us. Our revenues are up from a year ago - not dramatically, but they are up."

At a time when niche firms may be struggling to bring clients in the door, Marlette says the firm's broad base of practice areas has helped it during the ongoing economic slump.

"We have not been overly dependent on one particular sector, and that has made a difference," he said. Marlette said the firm also took a hard look at its expenses in an effort to tighten its belt.

"Every business has got to look at cutting back, especially during these times," he said. "We have examined all of our expenses, and we have had opportunities to make some reductions."

According to its Web site, Jaeckle currently employs eight fewer partners, 13 fewer associates and four fewer "of counsel" attorneys than it did in 2008. The firm offered a buyout offer in March to 38 of its full-time support staff in an effort to trim 10 employees from its payroll.

The firm has declined to reveal how many employees accepted the offer or if any staff have since been laid off.

The numbers aren't good for out-of-work attorneys and legal professionals. With most of the top firms typically hiring three to five law-school graduates each year - a practice most said they have continued - competition for any openings is even stiffer.

Recruiter Sakina Riddell said that as bleak as the Buffalo numbers may appear, the national picture is darker.

"In the larger markets in D.C. and New York," said the former Phillips Lytle attorney, who's now president of Riddell Recruiting and a legal search consultant for Washington, D.C.-based Mazie & Co., "they have experienced heavy associate layoffs, in the thousands."

The recession has had a trickle-down effect on the law firms, Riddell said.

"The legal market hasn't been immune to the effects of the economy, and clients have cut their legal budgets, pushed back on rates and pushed for alternative fee arrangements," she said. "That is naturally going to have an impact on the demand for legal services."