Released on: September 27, 2008, 4:14 am

Press Release Author: Mary Waldron

Industry: Law

Press Release Summary: The 118-year-old San Francisco-based law firm Heller Ehrman,
which withstood both the 1906 earthquake and the Great Depression, could not endure
the pressures of the present crumbling economy. Yesterday, Heller Chairman Matt
Larrabee announced to the 500+ working lawyers of the firm that the firm’s
dissolution is imminent, although a formal vote to dissolve would not take place
until today. LawCrossing, the world’s leading legal job board, expressed deep
concern over this development and announced a renewed drive to post more and more
legal jobs in its database.

Press Release Body: “These are hard times for legal professionals at Heller Ehrman,”
says A. Harrison Barnes, Esq., the founder and CEO of LawCrossing. “The legal job
market is disintegrating, and law firms are finding it hard to keep their footing in
the shaky economy.”

It is interesting to note that, as recently as 2004, Heller ranked second on The
American Lawyer magazine’s “A-list,” which ranks law firms on the basis of
profitability, pro bono representation, associate satisfaction, and diversity
ratings. But in recent years the firm had grappled with a variety of challenges,
including the departures of numerous valued partners and the financial strains of
trying to survive in an increasingly competitive legal industry.

On the whole, however, the legal industry is hardly suffering from the current
economic troubles. According to the new 2008 Survey of Law Firm Economics, for
example, the average gross revenue per lawyer for the law firms responding to the
survey has reached $430,483 per year, an increase of 4% over the prior year. The
study also revealed that starting salaries for new law school graduates rose to an
average of $85,000, a 3% increase over the prior year.

“Heller Ehrman could not hold its ground in the face of increasing competition,”
says Barnes. “This might happen to any law firm today, irrespective of its position
in the industry. But all is not lost. The Survey of Law Firm Economics notes that
compensation rates for legal professionals are actually at an all-time high. The
real problem is that many legal professionals find it hard to search for active
legal jobs. What is important, according to my experience as an attorney, is that
one look for jobs in the right places.”

LawCrossing scours legal job openings from virtually every law firm, government
agency, employer career webpage, and legal job board in America. It is a pioneer in
introducing new search features for finding legal jobs, and is the largest legal job
board in the world. The site provides resources for law students, attorneys, and
legal staff alike with active jobs totaling 140,000-plus legal jobs. LawCrossing
constantly tracks the hiring needs of over 250,000 employers every day. It also
reviews more than 10,000 websites per day in search of new legal job openings.

LawCrossing provides instant access to a comprehensive pool of listings based on
your particular area of interest. Unlike other job-search and career sites,
LawCrossing weeds out spam and jobs outside one’s niche, allowing the job seeker to
search efficiently and specifically. For more details, log on to
www.lawcrossing.com.


About LawCrossing

LawCrossing is an affiliate of EmploymentCrossing, a powerful and comprehensive
organization dedicated to helping professionals find jobs that will enhance their
careers. LawCrossing consolidates every legal job opening it can find in one
convenient location. LawCrossing was ranked 72nd on the 2007 Inc. 500 list of the
fastest growing companies in the US. The website also offers a seven-day free trial
to new members

Web Site: http://www.lawcrossing.com/

Contact Details: Contact:
Mary Waldron, Editorial Coordinator
LawCrossing
626-243-1885
maryw@lawcrossing.com