Gunderson Is Laying Off Attorneys Across Its Offices In Silicon Valley

Among the law firms operating in Silicon Valley, Gunderson Dettmer is laying off attorneys to make way for its expansion. The firm advises startups and venture capital firms.

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In a memo viewed by Trade Algo, David Young, Gunderson's managing partner, said one of the reasons for the cuts was a recent drop in attorney, paralegal and staff numbers. The firm had recently brought on board 10% of its attorneys, paralegals and staff, Young said.

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It has been confirmed that Gunderson has laid off employees, but a spokesperson declined to provide further information.

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In addition to the senior associates who were asked to stop working at the firm, three sources with knowledge of the situation said the cuts included first-year associates who began working at the firm in January after a delay of almost three months.

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The firm is providing severance benefits and semi-monthly stipends to any new associate whose start dates are deferred as a result of their graduation in the spring, he said. Any new associate with a deferred start date will receive severance benefits as well as a semi-monthly stipend, Young added.

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A number of companies have been advised by Gunderson, including Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital between others, and it has a reputation for working with emerging companies and venture capital investors.

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In addition to the layoffs, Kirkland & Ellis also announced it would be reducing its associate staff after the company released its mid-year results last week. Kirkland, the world's largest law firm by gross revenue, made its cuts in response to those results.

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It was forced to delay the start date for the first-year class as markets turned in 2021, and competitors began bringing the first-year class down as they reduced headcount. As markets turned in 2021, Gunderson was forced to delay the start date for the first-year class by several months due to the booming deals boom.

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In September, Gunderson announced that it would delay start dates for its newest crop of associates by a month, citing slowing demand. The firm announced in October that it would push back the start dates to January due to a slowing economy.

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A report published by the American Lawyer shows that as of 2006, the firm had 393 attorneys across nine offices.