News In Focus
16 April 2009
Leading law firms cut intakes
The five so-called “Magic Circle” London-based law firms are putting the squeeze on new partner appointments in the latest sign of how the financial crisis is hitting the highest levels of a once-stable profession, reports the Financial Times.
The leading firms are either cutting intakes this year or postponing the choice pending the results of big programmes to cut jobs.
The action shows how economic turmoil is for the first time striking hard at current and aspiring members of the industry’s governing owner-manager partnerships, which have been attractive historically to young lawyers because they offer high pay and job security.
Both Clifford Chance, the world’s largest law firm, and Allen & Overy have delayed partnership announcements as they grapple with restructurings that are likely to lead to a large-scale exodus of existing partners.
Clifford Chance, which is due in the summer to announce its detailed plans for cuts, said it was expecting to anoint fewer partners this year than the 35 it appointed globally last year.
Linklaters, the second-largest firm, said it planned to appoint six partners in London this year, compared with seven last year. It is appointing 18 partners worldwide, an annual fall of 28 per cent.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer – which had trimmed its partnerships before the worst of the financial turmoil – said it would name only two new partners in London this year, compared with 10 in 2008.
Slaughter and May, the fifth member of the Magic Circle, will appoint two partners this year, down from four last year and the lowest number for at least seven years.