According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 34% of the legal services jobs created since the 2001 recession have been lost in the current downturn.
Since the recession began in December 2007, the legal industry has lost an estimated 24,900 jobs.
In March 2009 alone, the industry lost 2,700 jobs. Last week, JDJournal recorded the layoffs of 455 lawyers, 219 staff; the week before that, 91 lawyers and 177 staff; and the week before, 574 lawyers and 812 staff.