Law firms are commencing their Christmas ‘bashes’ in more-or-less traditional form, and a summary of some of the plans made by the big law firms was discussed in Sasha Borissenko’s Herald column, noting that Chapman Tripp, DLA Piper and Meredith Connell failed to respond to her request for details of their Christmas functions, putting them on the Santa ‘naughty list’.
But what of those who did respond? Are grinches or the good-times flowing for Big Law?
She reports that Buddle Findlay, Russell McVeagh, and Dentons are among the firms planning festive functions for their employees and although some firms may be scaling back on holiday celebrations due to economic pressures, many firms are maintaining their tradition of end-of-year events.
The planned celebrations range from office-wide parties to team lunches and even special events for children of employees.
Safety and responsible hosting are key concerns for these firms. Russell McVeagh, as one might expect for a firm emerging from year’s of ‘party purgatory’ following the firm history, and they emphasize that their celebrations will prioritize both fun and safety, with assigned responsible hosts to ensure employee well-being.
Dentons has implemented policies regarding alcohol consumption at their events, allowing for a range of beverages while reminding employees of their drug and alcohol policies.
There’s a theme here, of course. No bad behaviour – which leads to very bad PR.
In addition to celebrations, many firms are offering bonuses and Christmas gifts to their employees, ranging from discretionary performance-based bonuses to tangible gifts like travel bags or gift cards.
MinterEllisonRuddWatts evidently provide a ‘thank you’ gift to staff each year, as does Simpson Grierson “including annual discretionary bonuses and other financial rewards”.
Buddle Findlay also provide staff gifts and discretionary bonuses to performing staffers. Russell McVeagh also have a discretionary bonuse scheme with a bonus scheme built around a “high-performance framework clearly defines expectations around performance for bonus eligibility.”
Dentons offers bonuses that can amount to 3-15 percent of an employee’s base salary.
The article notes that while some support roles have been disestablished in the tough economic times, most of the top-tier firms have not undergone major restructures or made lawyers redundant. Some, like Dentons, have increased their headcount.
