Caution Below: Attorneys Falling

Cadwalader - venerable NY corporate firm - is laying off 90-100 attorneys. For those out of the know, that is an unprecedented number in this industry. The explanation Cad's chairman gave http://www.abovethelaw.com/:

"There was a frothiness that occurred as a result of the Blackstones and the Apollos
using mortgage-backed securities to fund their buyouts. It was a lot like junk
bonds becoming the instrument of choice in the late 80's and early 90's."
White explained that, in 2004, there were only $98 billion worth of
mortgage-backed securities issued. In 2008, he said, that number ballooned to
$314 billion. "So we grew right along with client demand. And now that market
has contracted severely. That $314 billion from last year will go to roughly $60
billion in 2008 -- an 80% contraction."

All fine and good, but don't let me catch profits per partner anywhere near where they were last year if you're gonna let people go in such numbers.