Allen and Ovary to drop 30% of their NQ

lostinrates

Young solicitors are having a very bad week it would seem!

http://www.rollonfriday.com/load.asp?page=story1186.htm

Ooop, and Burges Salmon, a big Bristol firm that markets itself as the City firm outside the City, have to move as there LL has gone into administration.

Sir_Humphrey

Allen and Ovary: are they like Hinge and Bracket, or Reeves and Mortimer?

Sorry, drunk too much coffee this Friday afternoon!

lostinrates

I used to love the firm that sounded like an upmarket butcher : Lamb, LaBoeuf, Greene and MacRae. I forget what its called now

ETA: they are called Dewey LaBoeuf and they too have announced redundancies.

purch

to drop 30% of their NQ

If I knew what a NQ was I might be worried !!!! :eek:

bendix

I work for a leading law firm in the city. Don't cry for them guys. They are not struggling at all, even though some of the big names like A&O, Clifford Chance, Linklaters are reportedly losing 10-15% of lawyers and staff as a result of the downturn.

The reality is this. Most of these firm are so profitable that average profits to each partner (the lawyers who jointly own the firm) make an average of a £1m a year. That is the magic figure. My own firm hit the £1m per partner last financial year.

Business is slower this year, but I know my firm is only 5% below budget which is still ahead of last year's actual revenues. This might be a bad year - profits to each partner could slump to £900k. Woe is me. And to clarify . this is what they actually take as salary, after reinvestments.

This culling of lawyers and staff is no more than an exercise in ensuring they get as close to £1m as possible. It's also an opportunity to get rid of dead weight (law firms culturally don't like to make people redundant, so they wait for downturns to cull the rubbish people that they would like to get rid of in other times).

My firm has lost noone so far, and has no plans too.

lostinrates

purch wrote: »

If I knew what a NQ was I might be worried !!!! :eek:

Newly Qualified

lostinrates

bendix wrote: »

I work for a leading law firm in the city. Don't cry for them guys. They are not struggling at all, even though some of the big names like A&O, Clifford Chance, Linklaters are reportedly losing 10-15% of lawyers and staff as a result of the downturn.

The reality is this. Most of these firm are so profitable that average profits to each partner (the lawyers who jointly own the firm) make an average of a £1m a year. That is the magic figure. My own firm hit the £1m per partner last financial year.

Business is slower this year, but I know my firm is only 5% below budget which is still ahead of last year's actual revenues. This might be a bad year - profits to each partner could slump to £900k. Woe is me. And to clarify . this is what they actually take as salary, after reinvestments.

This culling of lawyers and staff is no more than an exercise in ensuring they get as close to £1m as possible. It's also an opportunity to get rid of dead weight (law firms culturally don't like to make people redundant, so they wait for downturns to cull the rubbish people that they would like to get rid of in other times).

My firm has lost noone so far, and has no plans too.

I'm not crying but I am ....cautious. DH works for a firm that sounds similar to yours....too small a world surely?....and I'd like us to keep our income!:o

Sir_Humphrey

bendix wrote: »

I work for a leading law firm in the city. Don't cry for them guys. They are not struggling at all, even though some of the big names like A&O, Clifford Chance, Linklaters are reportedly losing 10-15% of lawyers and staff as a result of the downturn.

I know someone who works for Freshfields, who does quite nicely thank you!

purch

Newly Qualified

Well it's decades since I was one of those .........

Thanks :A

bendix

NQs are newly qualified lawyers .. with starting salaries in around £36k. Then they become 1yearQ(ualified), 2Q, 3Q etc. Because of competition, all the leading firms like Freshfields, CC, Bakers, Herbert Smith etc pay almost identical salaries to lawyers at various levels until, of course, they reach partner level when it's based on profit share.

Firms remain awash in cash. My own firm is doing very very nicely in two key areas due to the credit crunch . . advising banks who are suing each other over this debacle, and advising corporations who are doing rights issues to raise new capital.

Our sense is that a few of the second and third tier firms specialising in smaller clients are suffering, but not the big boys.

lostinrates

bendix wrote: »

NQs are newly qualified lawyers .. with starting salaries in around £36k. Then they become 1yearQ(ualified), 2Q, 3Q etc. Because of competition, all the leading firms like Freshfields, CC, Bakers, Herbert Smith etc pay almost identical salaries to lawyers at various levels until, of course, they reach partner level when it's based on profit share.

Firms remain awash in cash. My own firm is doing very very nicely in two key areas due to the credit crunch . . advising banks who are suing each other over this debacle, and advising corporations who are doing rights issues to raise new capital.

Our sense is that a few of the second and third tier firms specialising in smaller clients are suffering, but not the big boys.

NQ salaries are 1st year qualifieds, aren't they?. The salaries of £36k are for Trainee Solicitors, at a city firm, surely? (and obviously, its not that small a world ) but yes, very similar situation.