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
- Is This The Billable Hour’s Last Stand? Anthropic’s Top Lawyer Thinks So
The legal profession has survived recessions, regulatory upheavals and the occasional partner meltdown. But the next threat to BigLaw’s favourite revenue model may come from something far less dramatic. A machine that reads faster than any associate and which could spell the end of the infamous ‘billable hour’, which has been touted as being in its end time for some time. According to Jeff Bleich, general counsel at AI company Anthropic, (pictured) the traditional billable hour could soon be on borrowed time. - Legal Ethics Whiplash 2026: DOJ Moves to Block State Bars from Disciplining Its Lawyers — Plus a Massive Spike in Judicial Complaints
LawFuel StaffBig Law partners and in-house counsel, take note: the rules governing… Read more: Legal Ethics Whiplash 2026: DOJ Moves to Block State Bars from Disciplining Its Lawyers — Plus a Massive Spike in Judicial Complaints - Legal AI – Herbert Smith Partners with Legora as “Intelligent Legal Colleague”
Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer is adopting Legora as… Read more: Legal AI – Herbert Smith Partners with Legora as “Intelligent Legal Colleague” - Taylor Rose’s 1,000‑Lawyer Milestone: Has the Consultant Model Finally Gone Mainstream?
Tom Borman, lawFuel Contributing EditorTaylor Rose has become the first UK law… Read more: Taylor Rose’s 1,000‑Lawyer Milestone: Has the Consultant Model Finally Gone Mainstream? - Philadelphia Judge Charged With Strangulation In Domestic Violence Case
Lawyers, judges, and the rest of the legal tribe usually prefer their… Read more: Philadelphia Judge Charged With Strangulation In Domestic Violence Case - Top 8 Legal Answering Services for Law Firms in 2026
Missing a client call can mean missing a case. Potential clients often… Read more: Top 8 Legal Answering Services for Law Firms in 2026 - National Australian Law Firm Acquires 120 Year Old Legal Firm
LHD Lawyers, a national law firm has acquired 120 year old law… Read more: National Australian Law Firm Acquires 120 Year Old Legal Firm
