Why Major Law Firms Are Shrinking

AFTER months of anxious planning, it was time for Hugh Verrier to finally press send.In his two years as chairmn of White & Case, the venerable Wall Street law firm, Mr. Verrier had already laid off 70 young lawyers and shuttered offices in Bangkok, Dresden and Milan. He had watched top partners flee to competitors and suffered a depressive 2008 holiday party at Cipriani's, which had half the budget of the prior year's $500,000 event -- a Neroesque fete at the United Nations with fireworks and a band.