Mallesons chief executive partner Robert Milliner hopes to reduce staff count by 5%, or 100 people, by introducing a voluntary redundancy program which will begin in August. In a letter to staff, Milliner predicted continued subdued conditions which were cited as the reason for the move.
The move was made following a board meeting earlier in the month to review the firm’s forecast for the next 24 months and it was during this meeting that the decision was made to offer the voluntary redundancies. The pessimistic outlook for the year ahead stands in stark contrast to prevailing opinion that the economy is starting a recovery verbalised by RBA governor Glen Stevens yesterday who said there were more upside risks than downside risks facing the economy at present.
“The work today is not evenly spread over all practice areas and centres and the economic outlook, despite contradictory reports, is set to remain subdued with flatter conditions in the legal market,” Milliner wrote in the letter. “In these circumstances, even the strongest firms in the marketplace must adapt themselves.”
Mallesons is calling on employees to submit expressions of interest in taking up the volunteer redundancy, while retaining discretion as to which positions are ultimately accepted for redundancy. A spokesperson admitted to ALB that some practice areas had been hit harder than others but maintained that the firm was keeping an open mind as to which positions would be accepted for the volunteer redundancy. The offer is only open to full-time employees and settlements will be in part based on years of service as well as other factors.
In his letter, Milliner said the initiatives the firm took to manage lower work levels with the same number of lawyers, such as encouraging more staff to take up 48/52 swap pay for leave, have yielded a positive response. However, “more now needs to be done, given that the downturn is expected to continue well into 2010/11,” he said.
To read the whole letter click here