Last year the firm cut 25 lawyers in the first two months. In January 2009 the firm also announced a freeze of associate compensation for the year. The freeze is no longer in effect. Sheppard Mullin chair Guy Halgren says that the demand for transactional and real estate work was low, the decline in those areas was offset by a demand for labor and employment, bankruptcy, government contracts and anti-trust practices.
Founded in 1927 Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton is a general practice firm with over 520 attorneys in 11 offices.