JD Journal » reduced compensation

CMS Cameron McKenna to Cut 80, Reduce Pay

Erik Even — Sat, 09 May 2009 18:00:18 +0000

London’s CMS Cameron McKenna has announced a redundancy consultation at its headquarters, targeting 80 jobs.

Twenty fee earners and 60 non-fee earners may be laid off.

Other personnel are being offered the choice of either a four-day week at reduced pay, or a sabbatical of up to 12 weeks at reduced pay. They can also extend their vacation by two weeks.

In addition, some lawyers may choose a six-month sabbatical at cut pay with two 10-week expeditions to developing countries; or a six-month sabbatical at 20% pay to take an executive development course; or a six-month secondment in a CMS alliance firm at 50% of pay, with accommodation and living expenses covered.

CMS Cameron McKenna LLP is City of London-based international law firm with over 130 partners, and offices throughout the United Kingdom and Central and Eastern Europe.

Patton Boggs Adopts New Compensation System

Erik Even — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:59:26 +0000

Washington, DC-based Patton Boggs is adopting a new compensation plan for partners, retooling a long-held “eat-what-you-kill” system to reward partner cooperation and business development.

Under the new structure, which will begin next year, partners will have a percentage of their pay set by an 11-member compensation committee. The committee will examine how well partners refer business to each other, and will also weigh involvement in associate mentoring and training, and whether partners soon to retire are transferring clients to the next generation of lawyers at the firm.

It is not a complete change. Nearly 85% of partners’ compensation will still be based on billables. But it does mark a major change for the firm, which says it wants to encourage partners across practices to cross-sell services to clients.

The changes will apply to the firm’s 119 equity partners; they will not affect the vast majority of the firm’s 111 non-equity partners. The firm has a total of 518 lawyers.

The firm has been working on a review of both the compensation system and firm objectives for roughly two years, and the internal process concluded with a partner vote in December to adopt the new system. More than 90 percent of equity partners voted for the change.

Patton Boggs is a full service law firm with more than 600 lawyers and professionals in nine locations in the United States and the Middle East.

Olswang to Lay Off 8% of UK Lawyers, Staff

Erik Even — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:58:05 +0000

Olswang has begun a redundancy consultation targeted at 8% of the firm’s 618-strong UK workforce.

The firm announced today that up to 42 staff in the UK will be affected by the cuts, with salaried partners, fee earners and support staff all included in the consultation.

The firm declined to comment on how many fee earner positions are likely to be axed as a result of the consultation.

Olswang said the final number could be lower, with HR director Ffion Griffith and CEO Kevin Munslow heading a staff consultation group that will look at ways to reduce job losses, such as unpaid leave, reduced working hours or reduced working weeks.

Olswang has 682 employees worldwide, including 242 fee earners and 104 partners, and has UK offices in London and the Thames Valley.

Olswang trainees and the firm’s plans for newly-qualified recruitment will not be affected by the review, which is expected to be completed by the end of March.

Founded in 1981, Olswang also has offices in offices in Reading, Brussels and Berlin.

Reduced Hours for Associates Instead of Layoffs?

Erik Even — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:28:17 +0000

The Project for Attorney Retention (PAR), an initiative of the Center for WorkLife Law at University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, is suggesting to struggling law firms that they cut associate hours rather than laying off lawyers completely.

“I think if firms aren’t thinking about such a program, they really should,” consultant Charles Santangelo told the NLJ. “A number of firms are already talking about it, and it’s happening for some paralegals. It may or may not work, but they should consider it.”

The PAR has long advocated for reduced hours as a way for law firms to retain attorneys, particularly women and minorities.

Associates working reduced hours would see corresponding reductions in their compensation, which would help firms cut their costs without firing associates.

It remains to be seen if the reduced-hours schedule idea will catch on with law firms.

The PAR does not have any statistics on the number of firms using reduced hours as a response to the economy, because the trend is fairly new. But a growing number of firms have contacted the PAR since this summer to ask about reduced hours and how such a program could be implemented.

Michael Nannes of Dickstein Shapiro said he doesn’t foresee a wave of law firms looking to reduced hours solely as a cost-savings move. The reality, he says, is that having associates work fewer hours doesn’t provide the same level of savings as layoffs.

It costs a law firm less to have three associates working 2,000 than to have four associates working 1,500 hours because the law firm must pay for office space and benefits for that fourth, reduced-hours associate. That added cost is eliminated in the layoff scenario.

On the other hand, Nannes said, clients value continuity among attorneys, and reducing associate hours would help protect the continuity that is disrupted by the layoff process.

Via NLJ.