Roll on Friday reports that associates received an email from the firm's HR director informing them it was holding off on reviews until the next board meeting on 21 July.
However, on 22 July, senior partner Jennie Gubbins notified staff that no decision had been taken and that reviews had been postponed again until after the next board meeting, on 15 September. Ms Gubbins wrote that she was ‘hopeful’ that salary rises will go through at that point.
Fee earners only
Salaried partners may be more open to the management board’s decision to ‘put in place a number of precautions to ensure that the firm is better able to withstand any bumps there may be in the road ahead,’ as their pay increases went through in April.
Following suit
Berwin Leighton Paisner became the first law firm to freeze pay following the referendum, with the moving affecting all UK-based staff except partners who take a share of the profits. Addleshaw Goddard and Gowling WLG followed suit, with Addleshaws announcing it would delay salary reviews for staff and its annual review of fixed profit share for salaried partners. Gowling also confirmed it will delay its 2016 salary review until the autumn.
Simmons & Simmons has made the most drastic move yet, laying off lawyers in its London office. The firm has not disclosed the number, but lawyers in the banking, corporate and real estate practices are understood to be affected.
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