
The COVID crisis has bitten law firms hard in some areas with two major law firms – Meredith Connell and Lane Neave – shedding staff.
Lane Neave has confirmed that 12 per cent of its staff, 21 lawyers and others, have been released as a result of the pandemic.
[adrotate banner=”93″]
In large part the downturn in work at Queenstown has been behind the problems with Lane Neave.
“A careful process was undertaken with, and support has been provided to, affected staff members – and to their colleagues – through both internal and external sources,” Managing Partner Andrew Shaw told the NZ Herald.
The firm was also paying back $1.11 million in wage subsidies that it had taken for 162 employees.
Meredith Connell has also confirmed to BusinessDesk that it was making some redundancies but fewer than 2 per cent of its staff of 250.
Meredith Connell recently took over boutique Prestige Law, due to complete on 1 July.
Prestige Law specialises on cross-border litigation and dispute resolution work at also received over $118,000 in wage subsidies for its 18 staff.
LawFuel has been told that other redundancies are likely to occur in the near future from other firms with the downturn in work as a result of the pandemic, although some practices have also seen an upturn in work but have worked hard to trim overheads as the economy continues to adapt to the difficulties created by the pandemic.
[adrotate banner=”89″]
Australian Layoffs
Australia is seeing a second way of layoffs which, like the New Zealand law firm situation, is hitting professionals.
Deloitte, one of the big four professional services firms, announced on Monday that it would lose 700 professional staff from its 10,000-strong Australian workforce.
And the business downturn there, as in New Zealand, has been largely due to compliance, mergers and related commercial work reducing substantially.
Last week PwC cut 400 staff from its 8,000 strong workforce, mainly from the consultancy and financial advisory division.
Major law firm Ashurst has cut partner draws by 20 per cent for six months and staff took pay cuts until July, with a similar cut in hours.
Other law firms have cut partner draws by up to 50 per cent and furloughed workers.
More from LawFuel
- Legal AI Produces ‘Law Firm 2.0’The Rise of Law Firm 2.0: LegalTech Fund Backs AI-Powered Legal Startups… Read more: Legal AI Produces ‘Law Firm 2.0’
- Diamond & Diamond Lawyers Lead L’Oreal Hair Relaxer Class Action in CanadaSource: Diamon & Diamond Lawyers* The global beauty industry, valued at over $500… Read more: Diamond & Diamond Lawyers Lead L’Oreal Hair Relaxer Class Action in Canada
- NZ Law – Dentons NZ Announce Seven New PartnersDentons is delighted to announce the promotion of seven new partners. The… Read more: NZ Law – Dentons NZ Announce Seven New Partners
- Australian Court Issues Warning on Legal AI Citation Errors in Legal PracticeThe ‘ Hallucinated’ Legal AI Risks in Court A recent Australian Federal… Read more: Australian Court Issues Warning on Legal AI Citation Errors in Legal Practice
- Top 6 Questions You Must Ask a Car Accident Lawyer Before You Hire Them in 2025Image source: Shutterstock The aftermath of a car accident can be a… Read more: Top 6 Questions You Must Ask a Car Accident Lawyer Before You Hire Them in 2025
- NZ Law – Turner Hopkins partners with Beijing firm to ramp up China‑NZ legal workMandarin‑speaking team powers Kiwis’ legal access to China Takapuna’s Turner Hopkins—established in… Read more: NZ Law – Turner Hopkins partners with Beijing firm to ramp up China‑NZ legal work
- HWL Ebsworth Expands South Australian Presence with Botten Levinson AcquisitionAustralia’s largest legal partnership has just grown even bigger. HWL Ebsworth is… Read more: HWL Ebsworth Expands South Australian Presence with Botten Levinson Acquisition