An excess of conservatism at rivals misses the benefit and point of a goodwill gesture

Hearing some partners react to Norton Rose's plans to slice working hours before axing jobs, anyone would think the firm had proposed something radical rather than applying a tested route to surviving a recession without ruining your skills base. After all, four-day weeks have proved to be workable solutions to the recession for factories and even professional services firms like KPMG, but many City lawyers seem to believe it's a completely different story for law firms.

They argue that clients are so demanding and legal work so complex that transactional lawyers, at least, could never manage it. The subtext that partners are more wary of articulating is that many believe they are still carrying weaker performers tolerated due to the 2005-07 boom, so why not cut them out with a formal redundancy?

Still, let's assume for a moment that a law firm is operating a decent assessment system, which is supposed to be the means to deal with poor performers. Is Norton Rose's plan really so unworkable? Well, even Norton Rose concedes the programme, if implemented in earnest, will be far more work-intensive for management than a wide-scale redundancy programme, and that it would be unlikely to save as much money as a substantive programme of job cuts.

But critics should remember that the plan does not amount to putting busy M&A lawyers onto a four-day week while markets are booming. This is a contingency plan that will only kick in if management judges that workflow has fallen to such a point that they cannot justify the current staffing level. In addition, the firm would have considerable discretion to vary which staff were on a four-day week based on demand in different areas.

Once staff have given their consent, control rests with management, with decisions made by each practice, looking at predicted dealflow and work levels over the next few weeks. If the firm decides the numbers do not match, people will be given at least one week's notice that they are being put on a four-day week for a minimum of the next four weeks, or at least one month's notice if they are required to take a sabbatical.

The situation will be reviewed weekly, meaning Norton Rose is unlikely to find itself suddenly faced with a major deal and a shortage of lawyers and partners to advise on it. Indeed, the firm will be better positioned to deal with a rapid increase in work than rivals that have sent 10% of their lawyers packing.

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