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Law360 (June 23, 2020, 4:14 PM EDT) -- Holland & Hart LLP is the latest law firm to implement austerity measures as coronavirus cases continue to increase across the globe, confirming pay cuts and reductions of partner distributions.
The Colorado-based firm confirmed Tuesday that it had taken steps in the beginning of June to reduce the paychecks of non-equity, salaried attorneys by 15%.
Employees with an annualized salary of $100,000 or more will see a reduction of 7.5%, while employees making between $60,000 and $99,999 will see a 5% reduction. Those making less than $60,000 won't see a cut.
The firm framed the cuts as a precautionary move following a strong 2019 and "equally robust" first quarter of 2020.
"Like many firms, however, Holland & Hart preemptively implemented compensation reductions effective at the beginning of June that will allow the firm to weather the continued uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic and position the firm for success as the economy ultimately improves," a Holland & Hart representative said in a statement.
The statement added that the firm might "dial back these measures at any time based on its financial performance."
Holland & Hart also said it has reduced equity partners' profit distributions so that they will see the "highest percentage" of cuts in their expected compensation of the year, though it didn't announce a fixed rate for the cuts.
According to Law360's annual tracking of the largest law firms in the country, Holland & Hart had about 450 attorneys across its nationwide offices, including about 212 partners.
The firm is also suspending its employer match to employee 401(k) contributions.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic begins to roil the legal industry across the nation this spring, a slew of firms have taken measures to weather the financial impact, including furloughs, pay cuts, program suspensions and other financial cutbacks. Some even went a step further with layoffs.
Reed Smith LLP, Vedder Price PC, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, Goodwin Procter LLP, Norton Rose Fulbright and Nixon Peabody LLP are among the firms that had confirmed that they have made personnel cuts.
--Additional reporting by Kevin Penton. Editing by Adam LoBelia.
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