Gide Cuts Partner Distributions and Spending to Weather COVID-19 Crisis
Announcing the "precautionary" measures, the Paris-based firm said it would maintain salaries, raises and bonuses based on 2019 performance.
April 29, 2020 at 04:53 PM
3 minute read
Gide Loyrette Nouel has joined the list of law firms that are adopting cash-preserving measures to "ensure that business remains afloat" during the coronavirus crisis, the Paris-based firm said in a statement released Wednesday.
Describing the measures as "precautionary," Gide said it would reduce partner distributions this year by up to 25% on a sliding scale, with senior partners taking the deepest cuts and younger partners taking lesser or no cuts to their distributions.
But the Paris-based firm, which numbers 550 lawyers including around 100 partners, said it would not be cutting its legal and business services staff and would maintain salaries, raises and bonuses based on work performed in 2019.
Gide also said it would reduce expenditures for travel, entertainment and events for 2020. Much of that spending is already on hold because of government-mandated mobility restrictions to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The firm said it was availing itself of a French government aid program to furlough staff members for whom working from home was difficult or not possible. The program, known as partial unemployment in French, pays 80% of salary. Gide said the measures would be applied to some assistants and office management teams.
"These measures are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they are still adapted to the situation," Gide said in a statement.
France is due to start relaxing mobility restrictions as of May 11, assuming the health situation is stable enough to allow it, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced Tuesday.
Like many firms in France, Gide switched to remote working for the majority of its staff in mid-March when the first coronavirus restrictions were announced.
French firms, for the most part, have weathered the lockdown with adjustments to workloads and generous government support, hoping to keep their teams intact so that business can rebound faster once the restrictions are lifted.
But as France's economic slowdown continues into its second month, some firms have announced changes to partner compensation and reductions in expenses to preserve cash.
Dentons Paris announced last week that it would cut associate pay, staff hours and spending in its Paris office in response to the crisis.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFCA Fines Metro Bank £16.7M Over ‘Financial Crime Failings’
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250