Laywers - any redundancies in prospect or is The Lawyer just scaremongering?

[Pillow]

At my US firm we are quiet but I wasn't too worried about redundancies. I had thought a more long-term view common now after firms were hit with big re-hiring costs after the last downturn. But the front page of The Lawyer and rumours I am hearing have got me a bit worried. Does anyone know of redundancies really, or is it all just talk?

there have been redundancies in lots of firms lately, am scared to be specific in case employers have some kind of trace (I've read The Firm) - not just my firm but others locally too. I think it is real but depends on sector, property definitely vulnerable, fortunately not my area.

I think conveyancing are hitting problems. Fortunately DH's area of law isn;t afected.

Am not in property, in corporate. At the time of the last downturn was at magic circle firm, where they just put a lot of corporate lawyers into restructuring (which was obviously busier) and then moved us back when things got better. There's not much scope to do the same where I am now. I'm worried that it all seems to be very hush hush and dressed up as performance-related redundancies off the back of annual appraisals.

It seems like a lot of the banks have been affected and I'm worried as have never been breadwinner and basically responsible for family income before..

My sis is in conveyancing, firm have withdrawn water coolers... so she is not expecting any bonus this year but just grateful to have work...

OMG- withdrawn the water coolers??? That IS extreme!!

At my mc firm, no talk of redundancies. Good bonus this year. But ... I have noticed that there have not been any new lateral associate hires in recent months, which is unusual.

Yup Pillow it's true! They also closed their American office (which is of course waay more important) but when I heard about the coolers,well that stays with you!

I heard about redundancies in Royal Bank of Scotland a while back (April?) but that's client side and is also probably more linked to the enormous cock up they made with ABN Amro.

dunno about lawyers but at bigger accountancy firms (where can have similar hire/fire patterns) there have been rumours of promotion and hiring freezes

There have been a few redundancies I think at firms which have been acting for Northern Rock and similarly geared firms. I think it is mostly property, particularly resi which is quiet.

yes I work in res and find out on Monday if I am definitely redundant. 31 people chasing 9 jobs now. Some of us have 20+years PQE.

I am absolutely petrified

Oh, fading I hope it goes well for you. What a bugger of a weekend to have to go through.

I know. We are all getting called to the boardroom one by one during Monday. We thought the powers-that-be may have emailed us all on Friday with a time slot but no.......

They'll wait until Monday afternoon before they start telling us so they can get another day's work ou of us. Not me. My desk is cleared apart from my pen and diary, and they are coming with me

Still petrified though. Where will I find another job ? I won't.

I hope the whole fecking firm goes bust.

(Rant over)

Fading, I am hoping for a Happy Monday for you. But even if the worst comes to pass, OF COURSE you will find another job! Even in residential conveyancing, things are ticking over. And you could go another route entirely - I'm not sure of the res conveyancing market but I'm convinced there are a hundred and one things that you could do with your skills. If you were a corporate lawyer for example I'd say in house or PSL - and there must be equivalents for you? I know in house would mean working for places that themselves are suffering from the down-turn, but suffering from it doesn't mean they're not hiring at all. I'm sure your massive experience will see you through this. And good luck! Please let us know how it went, and there will be many much more experienced people than me on here to help you if you need it, I know that!

Thanks Jemima.

I am not looking forward to tomorrow - but at least I will know!

I'll post again tomorrow evening....

Fadingaway, fingers crossed for you....

We normally offer jobs to 90% of our trainees, and a couple of those will end up leaving anyway. This year we have offered to 50%, and those with jobs are not (I think) looking elsewhere.

Well it's happened and I never want to go through it again. Grown men crying, people being sick, it was just awful.

I was one of the "lucky" ones been offered a post in volume remortgage, complete with a 50% drop in salary.

No offence to anyone but remortgage is not what I studied for.

I am very upset and can't see a way out just now.

And to top it all a call came from the boardroom at one point because the wrong cheese had been sent up on the partners' cheeseboard. FFS

They wanted bloody cheddar with chives in it or something and they sent a junior trogging off round the town to find it too.

Turnip I know what you mean - resi has been my life for 15 years and I'd need serious catching up to go into anything else.

Buggering bugger. I am depressed.

Oh fading, I am a lawyer too and sending much sympathies.

Fading away I am so sorry. I am a partner in a largeish regional firm.......180 employees.

Our ppty dept is dead and will all but close by the end of the year but we will hopefully redepoly around the rest of the firm which is busy.

Where are you in the country ? Which firm may I ask.

FFS we dont even get sandwiches as partners let alone cheese!

fadingaway - so sorry

am corp PSL in London

dh (he is a partner in a regional firm). interviewed someone (about 15 yrs pqe I think) on Friday who had been made redundant from her London firm.

I had heard that usually in a downturn the litigation/insolvency sectors do really well, but this time that hasn't happened.