Tuning out layoff news?

If you read any publication geared toward the legal community, you’ve undoubtedly encountered numerous news stories about law firm layoffs. It’s a topic we’ve covered both in IL and here in the blog and one that should be talked about. The economy is hitting law firms and offices harder now than it has in years, and that’s news.

But does there come a point when you read or hear the same type of news over and over again to the extent that you begin to tune it out?

I get a daily e-mail from the National Law Journal and today’s publication had six stories from around the country about law firm layoffs, suits related to law firm layoffs or closings, and what to do if you’ve been laid off. There was one news story related to a firm hiring attorneys, but that was buried at the bottom and easy to miss.

This may be cynical of me, but these days, I’m more shocked when I don’t see a story about a firm cutting attorneys or staff. Cutbacks have been in the news for months and it’s becoming the norm.

The same goes for the journalism/publishing business. Newspapers are filing for bankruptcy left and right and the surprise I felt when I read that the Christian Science Monitor was switching from its print publication to online only to save money, or that Detroit newspapers would cut back on home delivery, well, the shock is no longer there as I read about another publication announcing layoffs and cutbacks.

As an attorney, paralegal, or staffer, how are you processing this constant barrage of news stories about cuts? Does it still worry you and surprise you to see a story, or has it become such part of everyday life now it doesn’t make you bat an eyelash?