Profits vs people - firms should tread carefully on staff cuts
"Even with a hard-nosed view of the profession, the context in which large commercial law firms manage their staff does matter. Times are hard, but they are not yet like 2009 when most firms had to push through major restructurings of their cost bases..."
June 28, 2012 at 07:03 PM
3 minute read
As I posted last week on our online story, I do genuinely admire Addleshaw Goddard's honesty in announcing a redundancy consultation on the same day it said that partner profits were up 37%. It's the kind of frankness that isn't too common among large UK law firms, which still rather favour sneaking out staff through more discreet means if possible. But, as to the decision itself, hmmm, that's a tough line to sell.
But it's a line that a good few of Addleshaws' peers look likely to be peddling this year, as there is currently no shortage of cost-conscious firms edging up profits with little or no growth in revenue. Addleshaws deserves credit, at least, for not dealing with dropping attrition through tougher performance reviews.
There isn't an easy answer to these issues. The default bleeding heart moaning at law firms that make staff redundant is often unrealistic. A business has to run like a business and I've got no patience for those who criticise law firms one minute for not being profitable enough and the next for how they treat their staff.
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