Guy Beringer, former Senior Partner of A&O and a chum of mine, is writing to all City lawyers who live in Surrey to try and save the local law centre.

For various reasons the Legal Aid Agency is delaying payments due to the Surrey Law Centre. These amounted to £77,000 in 2010, rising to £145,000 in 2011 and are currently at £210,000. Most if not all of this will eventually be paid. But the centre is likely to have gone under by the time the Agency finally pulls its finger out of its arse and gets round to it.


In order to avoid this, the Centre needs a new case management system and a dedicated member of staff to try and resolve this mess. Half the partners at City firms seem to live in Surrey - please do your bit and give generously.


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Thanks to the reader who flagged up Legal Week's new Student Report. In a survey of some 3,000 students, Addleshaw Goddard was rated as more prestigious (64%) than Linklaters (61%) and Freshfields (52%).

There's no reason to think that the methodology can be faulted. So this is just a case of students being so galactically ill-informed that they genuinely believe a struggling Northern outfit looks better on a CV than some of the finest firms in the world with global reputations.

Irwin Mitchell was rated by students as the best National firm. That's the same Irwin Mitchell that was voted by its own staff as the worst firm in the country.


The survey flags up the difficulty faced by these students in trying to bag training contracts. Which is possibly unsurprising given that so many of them are clearly absolutely clueless. Read a newspaper. Check out any number of websites. Talk to people who actually work in the City. Don't base your views on the quality of the biro you're given at a law fair. Jeez.


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Allen & Overy has overhauled the management of its Australian operations.

Grant Fuzi, founder of the Sydney office and Managing Partner of A&O Australia, has stepped back from management responsibilities to focus on client work and acting as the face of the firm. He's been promoted to Senior Partner, Australia, with effect from 1st May.

Day to day management will now be handled by three partners, Geoff Simpson (Managing Partner Perth), Jason Denisenko (newly appointed Managing Partner Sydney) and John Samaha.


Read all about it in tomorrow's edition.


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A reader has sent in the following chain of correspondence with a recruitment consultant. Names are withheld for obvious reasons.

Dear Mr Doe

I write further to the above vacancy.

I qualified as a solicitor in September 2012, having passed the New York bar in 2009. I am currently working with a top-tier dispute resolution firm abroad specializing in International Arbitration, whilst perfecting my spoken and written Arabic.

I am keen to discuss my suitability for this and other roles which may be available. I attach my CV for your consideration and look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your time in this matter.

Kindest regards,

NQ


Dear NQ,

Thank you for your interest. I'm afraid that without training and experience with a recognised UK/US/Au type firm we will not be able to assist.

Kind regards,

John Doe


Dear Mr Doe

Not sure if I confused the issue, but I did complete my training contract in the UK from 2010 to 2012. And I do have my Practice Certificate - safe with my passport!

Kind regards,

NQ


Dear NQ

By recognised, I mean a top 50 practice.

John Doe


Dear Mr Doe

That is regrettable. The quality of training I received is head and shoulders above that received in bigger firms, but apparently this isn't enough to offset the placebo effect of name dropping. Respectfully, may I suggest that the next time you decide a candidate's background isn't suitable for a vacancy, you avoid implying that the training and qualifications they've spilled blood sweat and tears on aren't "recognized."

Long live diversity. And thank you for taking the time to consider my skills and experience.

Kind regards

NQ


Good luck in your search.

John Doe

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Simmons & Simmons' Managing Partner has sent an extraordinary email round the firm, reading all its lawyers the riot act and claiming that their competitors are getting more than 500 extra hours a year out of each of their associates.

Jeremy Hoyland laments the under-utilisation of lawyers at his shop, and says that:

"When I compare us to our peers, the utilisation of our lawyers is consistently below that of other firms. This does not just relate to US firms (which tend to run off a higher utilisation, lower rate model) but to a wide range of firms, some of which consistently report utilisation figures 500 hours+ above ours."

Reading the riot act yesterday

Apparently "this issue does not just apply in one office or one practice group - it is an issue across groups and offices and one we must address".

Hoyland puts a rocket up the collective arse of his colleagues, and says that it's up to everyone to get more hours on the clock. Nor can associates complain that they aren't being given enough work. "Associates and junior lawyers need to take some responsibility for the development of their own careers and accordingly for ensuring that they are contributing very fully to the firm."

More to follow in tomorrow's edition.


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