These economic times

Just a couple months ago, our firm was thinking about adding a secretary/paralegal. Since then, our biggest client, a Fortune 100 company, has demanded a rate freeze and a 20% discount for all of 2009. Our second biggest client has commanded that all our work cease for at least one month. So when we met this week, we decided we will not hire anyone after all and we will freeze our rates for all clients. In addition, we made a brutal decision about the 2008 bonus for our one current secretary/paralegal: we're giving her $0, nothing, nada, instead of our customary $10,000, based solely on economic conditions (not performance). (Let me just say in my own defense that I voted for well more than $0, but I was outvoted.)