Smaller Boston firms actually racked up per partner increases in 2001. Some of them were even able to achieve such a feat without resorting to lay-offs (although there are never numbers on forced exits and attrition rates).

Despite record lows in hiring and record highs in firing in 2001, The Boston Business Journal reports it was merely the last quarter that was particularly heinous. (Although I do seem to remember a lot of hubbub before September 2001 on the plight of the law firm, ridiculously high admissions numbers, expected hiring in much lower amounts, &c.). But no, they tell me this year is "the real test."

Unfortunately, this reflects the uneasy vibe simmering below the surface of any discussion even remotely related to fall hiring. We can't stop talking about it. It's becoming a complete obsession.