LEGAL NEWS
FOUR-DAY WEEK AT ADDLESHAW
Fee-earners at Addleshaw Goddard have been asked to work a four-day week on 85 per cent pay. If the proposal is approved by the firm’s lawyers, then the scheme could come on-line for a year, starting on 1 July.
The firm is also looking for fee-earners who are willing to take additional leave this year, in blocks of four, eight, 12 or 26 weeks, at 30 per cent of their salary. The firm has already frozen salaries for fee-earners at 2008/9 levels until 2010 and is already involved in a redundancy consultation involving 85 staff in the offices in London, Leeds and Manchester.
MORE CUTS AT BLAKE LAPTHORN
Blake Lapthorn announced yesterday that it has begun a third redundancy consultation in nine months. A total of 33 jobs are under threat in the business services and secretarial areas, although some fee-earners are also thought likely to be affected.
The firm’s initial consultation took place last September and saw 33 jobs lost. In a second consultation in January, 30 staff were consulted. The firm blamed the ongoing losses on “the current period of economic uncertainty, which shows no sign of improving soon.”
PROBLEMS AT MAYER BROWN
Paul Maher, the co-vice-chair of Mayer Brown, has resigned from the firm. He had previously taken a leave of absence to consider his position.
Although he handed in his resignation last Friday, he will continue as vice-chairman of the firm until 1 June. Mayer Brown is thought to be in some confusion internally: a 12-person partnership board, which is meant to oversee a new governance structure, is still not finalised.
Maher was expected to become chairman of the board, taking over from Jim Holzhauer, but instead Chicago partner Bert Krueger was given the position.