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&lt;p&gt;Last week, the National Law Journal reported that the BigLaw attorney ranks dropped by 2,900 in 2010. So how can a loss of almost 3,000 have any positive spin? Compare the loss to the number of lawyers who exited BigLaw firms in 2009: 6,600&amp;mdash;more than double the 2010 figure. According to the National Law Journal, &amp;ldquo;In the 34 years the NLJ has been surveying large firms to gather headcount numbers, there have never been multiyear declines of this magnitude.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The ABA Journal notes that while firms like Thompson &amp;amp; Knight, Yoss (now dissolved) and Howrey LLP (now dissolved) lost over 20 percent of their attorneys in 2010, some firms did the opposite. Quinn Emanuel and Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard &amp;amp; Smith, for example, both grew their attorney rosters by 15 percent in 2010.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So things are far from great, but they&amp;rsquo;re getting a little bit better, and at some firms&amp;mdash;where the number of attorneys is growing&amp;mdash;they&amp;rsquo;re arguably good. While it is unclear what percentage of the losses are from layoffs (as opposed to free-will resignations), I&#39;m guessing a good chunk of the numbers include booted associates, which means we may still be in thousands territory when it comes to BigLaw dismissals.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What is your take on these statistics? Do they make you feel more optimistic about BigLaw job prospects in 2011, or are we in for more lawyer-shed this year? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;National Law Journal&lt;br&gt; ABA Journal&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read More:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt; Transactional Law Heating Up&lt;br&gt; Is Law Firm Hiring Making a Rebound? &lt;br&gt; Grab Your Law Firm Lifeboat&lt;/p&gt;

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