Delayed depression for associates at W&C

The law firm White & Case announced yesterday that they were laying off 400 employees, split equally between associates and staff. Strangely, the heads have yet to roll. In the spirit of the Jewish "holiday," The law blog Above the Law cheekily quoted sources connecting the delay to Purim:

"For those of you unfamiliar with the festival that is about as relevant to Judaism as Groundhog Day is to Americans, Purim is a costume holiday in which Jews commemorate their deliverance from death at the hands of the tyrant Haman. Haman conspired to kill the Jews and drew lots to determine the day on which he would hang them from the gallows he had built, but his plan was foiled by Queen Esther and Mordechai, with God pulling up the rear."

Cute theory.

But an insider told Vault that W&C had been advised by a consulting firm that the remaining employees would have a shortened period of adjustment/depression if the names were not released right away. Nothing was said, however, about the period of depression that occurs before the names are released. Hmmm…

--Posted by Linda Petock, Vault News & Commentary