Weinberg and Green could be on the verge of laying off at least 11 of the approximately 110 lawyers who practice at the state's seventh-largest law firm, as former Weinberg attorneys and other observers predict more shrinkage at the Baltimore firm.
Managing partner Charles O. Monk II refused to comment Tuesday, and did not return calls yesterday, about reports from former Weinberg attorneys that at least 11 and possibly more than 20 attorneys would be let go as the firm struggles to reorganize after losing seven partners since September.
"I wouldn't talk about that topic [layoffs] even if we were planning to do that," Mr. Monk, a former Maryland deputy attorney general who became managing partner only four years after joining Weinberg in 1988, said Tuesday. "I'm just not going to talk about our plans for our lawyers."
Yesterday, the firm ended its silence with a brief press release that said Weinberg "has implemented a significant restructuring plan" that "reflect[s] not only normal attrition but also a strategic analysis of the marketplace."
Mr. Monk did not return calls seeking clarification of the statement. A former Weinberg partner called the statement "lawyer gobbledygook to say we don't have enough business for all these lawyers."
Former Weinberg attorneys, most of whom asked not to be named, said they learned of the pending cuts from lawyers still at the firm. Nearly a dozen Weinberg lawyers declined to comment. Most referred calls to Mr. Monk; some referred calls to the firm's marketing director, who is on vacation.
The cuts could reduce the firm's head count to fewer than 100 lawyers, down from 148 as recently as October 1992.
"They probably should be a strong 65- to 70-person firm," said Michael C. Hodes, a former Weinberg partner who runs Hodes, Ulman, Pessin & Katz, a law firm in Towson. Mr. Hodes predicted that the firm would shrink to no more than 80 lawyers. "The question is, can you fall back and get your overhead in line with that?"
Several prominent lawyers, including former Weinberg partners, say the firm has a favorable lease on its headquarters in the NationsBank Center I tower, giving it a head start in cutting expenses to match its smaller size.
Karen Williamson, a legal recruiter and partner in the recruiting firm of Williamson & Neal, agreed that Weinberg is likely to get much smaller. But she said the recent troubles at Weinberg don't appear to be life-threatening.
"There are too many good people who would be looking -- and I would know about it -- if something dramatic were to happen," Ms. Williamson said. "The good people have left who were going to leave. The next group of people to leave will be people who are asked to leave."
Even Weinberg's announcement, while refraining from detailed discussion of the firm's pending changes, suggested that the cuts will be deep. The statement said Weinberg would remain among the state's eight largest law firms. The closest firm to passing Weinberg for seventh place is 74-lawyer Smith, Somerville & Case.
The recession has taken a toll on law firms, but cultural changes have been equally wrenching in many cases.
The exodus of major bank and corporate headquarters from Baltimore has been especially hard on second-tier corporate law firms like Weinberg, which have lost much of business they had from blue-chip Maryland firms that are now controlled from out of state.
Also, top-tier firms from other cities, such as Philadelphia-based Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll; Patton, Boggs & Blow of Washington; and McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe of Richmond, Va., have moved aggressively into Baltimore in recent years.
The out-of-town firms have either merged with Baltimore firms or opened small offices that can draw on larger home offices to offer full service to Baltimore businesses, providing another big source of competition to second-tier Baltimore firms.
"This is a wonderful town with good business, but how many full-service firms can you have?" said a Weinberg partner who left last year. "We are finding out."
John Moag Jr., managing partner for Patton, Boggs & Blow's Baltimore office, said the opening of Baltimore offices of out-of-town firms boosts the pressure to reward "rainmakers," who generate the most business, and cut out under-performing partners, who can sometimes command higher incomes because of their seniority.
"I think we would be perceived as a threat because we have a compensation system that would be a lot more attractive to partners," Mr. Moag said. "We do not have a compensation system that is based on seniority. . . . When you have people locked into a compensation level by virtue of their age and length of service, that is not a system that is going to hold up well during difficult times."
Weinberg has been especially protective of older partners, several sources said.
"The question is, do they have the guts to get rid of the higher-paid people?" Mr. Hodes said.