King & Spalding law firm lays off 37 attorneys

King & Spalding, one of Atlanta’s oldest and largest law firms both by number of attorneys and revenue, laid off 37 lawyers and 85 staff on Friday.

“While we have been working hard in many different ways to manage the firm to respond to the reduction in demand, the continuing decline in the U.S. and global economies has unfortunately made it necessary for us to make some reductions in our lawyer and staff ranks,” said King & Spalding chairman Robert D. Hays in a statement late Friday afternoon.

He said a severance package was being offered to the laid-off workers.

King & Spalding spokesman Les Zuke, based in New York, would not say how many of the firm’s cuts were from the Atlanta office and would not make anyone available to comment. King & Spalding has 13 offices, including outposts in Dubai and Frankfurt.

King & Spalding was founded in Atlanta in 1885. Its clients include Georgia blue chip companies, from Coca-Cola and Home Depot to SunTrust, as well as General Motors and Ernst & Young.

Like many industries, law firms have not been immune to the effects of the recession. The National Law Journal reported that in February major law firms laid off an estimated 1,100 attorneys. On Thursday, one of the nation’s largest firms, New York-based Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, laid off 55 lawyers and 100 staff, or 12 percent of its nonpartner ranks.