CMS partners are expecting their profit distribution payment schedule to be disrupted, as the firm's management mulls taking action in response to COVID-19 disruption.

The managing partner of CMS has told partners not to expect profit distributions to be paid out in the same "timely manner" as usual, a London partner said. 

The firm is currently the only member of the U.K.'s top ten largest law firms not to announce specific financial measures taken in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to two CMS partners, conversations are currently ongoing as to the firm's fiscal approach, with changes in line with the rest of the industry expected.

As of yet, the firm has not made any policy change regarding distributions, according to one partner.

CMS has also not placed any staff under furlough currently, according to a partner, bucking the trend of other large U.K. firms such as Ashurst, DLA Piper and Eversheds Sutherland. Instead, it has looked to redeploy resources to departments with higher workloads.

In March, the firm stated that it was looking to relocate lawyers from across the firm to its restructuring and insolvency (R&I) practice, in order to manage the increase in workload brought about by the coronavirus outbreak.

The firm provided laptops to all secretaries and personal assistants at the start of the lockdown in order to ensure they were able to work remotely.

A swathe of firms have unveiled measures including suspending distributions, freezing salaries, slashing hours and furloughing staff to keep their finances healthy.

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