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
- Former MinterEllisonRuddWatts Counsel Joins Hesketh HenryHesketh Henry has appointed Simon Gray as a partner to lead our… Read more: Former MinterEllisonRuddWatts Counsel Joins Hesketh Henry
- BigLaw Pay – Taylor Wessing’s Top Rainmaker Banks the Legal Equivalent of a Premier League Salary
Taylor Wessing’s highest-earning partner managed to haul in a whopping £200,000 a week in the latest financial year — that’s roughly the same as a Premier League striker on a good bonus season. It highlights just how ludicrous top-end pay has become in London’s legal market. According to Law Society Gazette, the top-paid LLP member at Taylor Wessing managed to net that £200k-a-week haul as profits were dished out across the partnership. That kind of pay packet makes even the notorious Cravath scale seem almost modest. Sure, mid-market firms can cry “but we’re all about work-life balance,” but when your top partner’s annual take amounts to north of £10m, it’s hard not to feel the sting of disparity. - High Court Upholds £50,000 Legal Ombudsman Payout Against Law Firm
The UK High Court has firmly slammed the brakes on a law… Read more: High Court Upholds £50,000 Legal Ombudsman Payout Against Law Firm - California Draws a Line on Legal AI And Lawyers Need to Pay Attention
For years, lawyers have been quietly experimenting with generative AI while publicly pretending it was all very theoretical. That luxury just expired however has expired as the California passes a first-of-its kind bill that will doubtless be replicated in other jurisdictions. The California Senate has passed SB 574 aimed squarely at how lawyers use artificial intelligence in legal practice. If it becomes law, California will be the first major jurisdiction to formally regulate AI use by lawyers, not with vague principles, but with obligations that cut straight to competence, ethics, and liability. In short: lawyers can use AI, but they own the consequences. And that’s something many will find daunting given the hallucinations and legal repercussions of legal AI’s misuse. - Brabners’ Eight-Year Growth Streak Powers London Expansion: What Regional Firms Can Learn
While London’s legal market dominates headlines with US firms driving salary wars and Magic Circle mergers, Brabners’ consistent growth story offers a compelling counter-narrative. The firm’s eight consecutive years of profitable expansion demonstrates that sustainable growth doesn’t require a City postcode—it requires strategic vision, client focus, and calculated expansion timing. And leadership from people like managing partner Nik White (Pictured), who the firm described as the ‘driving force’ behind its growth. At a time when UK law firms collectively generated £37 billion in revenue, with more than half posting double-digit increases, Brabners’ measured approach to London expansion represents a textbook case of regional strength leveraging metropolitan opportunity. Log in to read the rest . . - New, Aggressive Ransomware Group Attack New Zealand Law Firm
A New Zealand law firm is investigating a cyber incident that has… Read more: New, Aggressive Ransomware Group Attack New Zealand Law Firm - Fast-Growing Spencer Fane Joined by 16 Attorneys
Spencer Fane is pleased to announce that a team of 16 new… Read more: Fast-Growing Spencer Fane Joined by 16 Attorneys
