Interesting report by Kate Gibbs of the New Lawyer details how law firm hiring managers are playing with staff. It’s well worth a read especially as up to only a few weeks ago…
Australian firms weren’t really admitting that the were making people redundant.
Gibbs introduces her article by writing….
A major legal recruiter has offered some insight into recent redundancies and hiring freezes made by Australian law firms, such as Blake Dawson, DLA Phillips Fox, Minter Ellison, Clayton Utz, Deacons and Corrs Chambers Westgarth.
As law firms make radical cuts to their staff and lawyer numbers amid economic uncertainty and bleeding balance sheets, legal recruiter Hudson has announced that almost half of Australia’s legal managers are not replacing staff as they leave, and that 44.3 per cent will continue axing roles.
While not commenting specifically on a particular law firm, or those that have made recent redundancies, Stuart Ablethorpe, director of Legal at Hudson said hiring managers are looking at a range of steps they can take to manage through the global downturn.
Less obvious and publicised structural changes are also being made to law firm business, the survey of 185 hiring managers within law firms reveals. As job cuts have hit the headlines for some firms, more than 39 per cent of law firms are redeploying staff and lawyers elsewhere within their businesses.
Link to the full article at http://www.thenewlawyer.com.au/article/firms-shuffle-lawyers-to-avoid-redundancies/484364.aspx
