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Firm of the Year Update: Filthy lucre at Latham
21 December 2012

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The RollOnFriday Firm of the Year Survey is now in full swing, but for those who have yet to vote please add your two cents.

Latham & Watkins, which has previously put in some stellar Firm of the Year performances, is again scoring highly so far. Respondents love the "piles and piles of filthy lucre", the "Nespresso machines in the kitchens" and "more food on offer than an American cruise ship". Which may be why lawyers are willing to put up with "miserable hours" and "ball breaking partners". A special shout out too to Berwin Leighton Paisner, where apparently the "douche to legend ratio is very favourable".

Meanwhile Slaughters' lawyers seem keen to dispel the firm's reputation for being cold and elitist. "We are really just one big happy, albeit eccentric, family" gushes one respondent. Another says the firm is "warm, welcoming and collegiate." Plus there's "excellent work" and chocolate brownies that "give you a big fat kiss on the lips". However, it's not all sunshine as there were complaints of "very odd partners", "demented senior associates with massive chips on their shoulders" and, of course, "relentless hours".

Just another day at Slaughter and May

Irwin Mitchell is still languishing in the doldrums. Even though the partners are apparently "wetting themselves with excitement at the dawn of the ABS", this excitement doesn't seem to be trickling down to the staff who complain of "penny pinching", "stagnant" salaries and partners who "couldn't find their asses with both hands". And DAC Beachcroft is faring little better. "Lost: one Christmas party last heard of around December but MIA", bemoans one senior lawyer.

There is still time to get your responses in just click here (or here if you're at an Australian firm). We are a bit short on responses from Herbert Smith, Mishcon and Simmons - so if you work for one of those firms, let us know the 411.

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anonymous user 21/12/2012 08:58 Rate it -1 Report as offensive Sad about Irwin Mitchell - it tries really hard for a regional firm which does bulk litigation and has a piddly London office. Watch profits tumble post-ABS as the vaporisation of partners' incentive to bring in work sees them all leave to more lucrative places (once they've pocketed the IPO cash). Halliwells mark II?
anonymous user 21/12/2012 10:38 Rate it 12 Report as offensive I worked at IM and the 'wetting' has really started... Big pound signs for the Partners who are already pocketing 500k a year. Senior Partners will leave, but in many cases; be made to, why would anyone invest in a company and pay so many so much when they have the business sense of let’s say... Solicitors! No offence to you all but now the market is open you will actually see business people start running businesses and leave you lot to doing legal stuff. A support member of staff
anonymous user 21/12/2012 20:22 Rate it 2 Report as offensive S&S lawyers on a gag order non-shocka!
anonymous user 26/12/2012 15:22 Rate it 9 Report as offensive I work at IM and the morale is at rock bottom. Over the last 5 years the management team has competely changed and an aggressive back stabbing culture now prevails. A court of protection lawyer heads the Business division of the firm and they wonder why they have no reputation in the busness world! Equity partners hoard work to boost their personal figures, even doing diligence work that should be done by trainees, all to protect their equity points for the big ABS payout. You'd have to be mad to move to IM now.
anonymous user 03/01/2013 23:10 Rate it 8 Report as offensive I used to work at Irwin Mitchell and was pleased to get out of there. The previous poster is right and having a debt recovery lawyer from Golds (who?) alongside the private client lawyer further reduces the credibility of the business offering. Decent people join but then leave pretty quickly once they realise how clueless the highly paid managers are. Not a happy ship.
anonymous user 04/01/2013 16:23 Rate it 2 Report as offensive Speaking from inside Irwin Mitchell I have to completely agree. I have never seen morale worse than it is here: the pay is rock rock bottom (a recent quote on ROF was 'better working in Macdonals'?!), staff (mainly the smart ones) are flooding out the doors and the IT infrastructure, at least 7 years out-of-date, is cracking at the seams with minimal support. Currently the partners are pocketing a fair amount of profit, but you don't have to pull much out from underneath an organisation as ill as this one to sending it crashing down. And yes, the head of Business Legal Services is a Court of Protection lawyer.

anonymous user
21/12/2012 08:58

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-1

Report as offensive

Sad about Irwin Mitchell - it tries really hard for a regional firm which does bulk litigation and has a piddly London office. Watch profits tumble post-ABS as the vaporisation of partners' incentive to bring in work sees them all leave to more lucrative places (once they've pocketed the IPO cash). Halliwells mark II?

anonymous user
21/12/2012 10:38

Rate it

Report as offensive

I worked at IM and the 'wetting' has really started... Big pound signs for the Partners who are already pocketing 500k a year.

Senior Partners will leave, but in many cases; be made to, why would anyone invest in a company and pay so many so much when they have the business sense of let’s say... Solicitors! No offence to you all but now the market is open you will actually see business people start running businesses and leave you lot to doing legal stuff.

A support member of staff

anonymous user
21/12/2012 20:22

Rate it

Report as offensive

S&S lawyers on a gag order non-shocka!

anonymous user
26/12/2012 15:22

Rate it

Report as offensive

I work at IM and the morale is at rock bottom. Over the last 5 years the management team has competely changed and an aggressive back stabbing culture now prevails. A court of protection lawyer heads the Business division of the firm and they wonder why they have no reputation in the busness world! Equity partners hoard work to boost their personal figures, even doing diligence work that should be done by trainees, all to protect their equity points for the big ABS payout. You'd have to be mad to move to IM now.

anonymous user
03/01/2013 23:10

Rate it

Report as offensive

I used to work at Irwin Mitchell and was pleased to get out of there. The previous poster is right and having a debt recovery lawyer from Golds (who?) alongside the private client lawyer further reduces the credibility of the business offering. Decent people join but then leave pretty quickly once they realise how clueless the highly paid managers are. Not a happy ship.

anonymous user
04/01/2013 16:23

Rate it

Report as offensive

Speaking from inside Irwin Mitchell I have to completely agree. I have never seen morale worse than it is here: the pay is rock rock bottom (a recent quote on ROF was 'better working in Macdonals'?!), staff (mainly the smart ones) are flooding out the doors and the IT infrastructure, at least 7 years out-of-date, is cracking at the seams with minimal support. Currently the partners are pocketing a fair amount of profit, but you don't have to pull much out from underneath an organisation as ill as this one to sending it crashing down.

And yes, the head of Business Legal Services is a Court of Protection lawyer.