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Law Firm News Stories

Exclusive: B&M launches investigation into reprographics fraud allegations
28 October 2011
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Baker & McKenzie's London office has suspended a member of staff amidst allegations of fraud. He has subsequently resigned from the firm.

Bakers outsources much of its copying work to a company called London Legal. Although possibly not as much as it thinks: the firm is looking into a possible fraud, thought to involve someone clipping the ticket on this work for years.

These sort of allegations used to be rife throughout the City. Some years ago a facilities manager at a Magic Circle firm was done for taking backhanders from a courier company. The firm only got suspicious when a partner pulled up at the lights on his way home one weekend and saw the manager behind the wheel of a top-of-the-range BMW. And with outsourcing now very much in vogue, the opportunities for back-handers will only increase.

    Bakers' reprographics room yesterday

A spokesman for the firm said that "we are carrying out an investigation into allegations concerning one of our external service providers. The investigation is at an early stage but there is no evidence to suggest that any of our clients have been affected. Once our investigation is complete we shall be taking appropriate action."

London Legal wouldn't comment.


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anonymous user
31/10/2011 11:30
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Unfortunately this problem is still rife. There are many managers not properly scrutinised by their bosses and an "if it works, let it happen" attitude seems to be adopted.

The classic "box of Crispy Cream Doughnuts" or "All-you-can-eat takeaway order" to the evening staff to secure outsorced work still happens regularly as does gifts and goodies to trainess for outsorced favours. Mostly this is harmless and if a starving trainee can get enough energy to pull an all-nighter then where's the harm!

The problem lies when improvements offered by other firms such as better pricing, better services, quicker turn-arounds etc are ignored because the bigger perks aren't offered! When it comes to tender time and he who offers the best extras gets the business is a clear indication that a problem exists in a firms culture.

Senior Managers, Directors, Exec/Managing Partners don't have the time to micro-manage their support sections but do need to take more of an interest in the way they do business and not just leave them to their own devices because they are just a support devision.

Many Senior people just pass it down to the dept Manager and let him decide without following up how the process works and was it followed ethically.

With Tesco's Law, negative comments by the Law Society and the Legal system being under the spot-light at present I think there needs to be some kind of process or regulation or code of practive for support sections to follow and adhere to, ensuring an above board and totally transparent procurenment process for outsourced soutions either on a adhoc or contractual basis.
anonymous user
02/11/2011 15:52
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This practice is, in my experence, very rare in the industry (I've worked in a number of legal print rooms) and it's a shame that through lazy journalism people and companies are condemned as guilty before any proof is seen. This affects peoples lives, and jobs can be lost for possibly nothing.
anonymous user
03/11/2011 11:16
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Unfortunately the situation still happens at lots of different levels from the innocent "keep the trainee fed & happy" and help out on his workload to brown envelopes & big presents. Corporate gifts and "thank you's for working with us" days out are an accepted part of business in general as as long as they aren't around tender time and are OK'd at director level then there should be no issue. It's the unsolicited, unmanaged and unknown occurances where junior, middle managers or even staff get greedy. Yes the job gets done so where's the worry? But this is not an ethical or moral businmess pratice and should be driven out of the work place with heavy fines etc for not only the individual but anyone with knowlegde of it that doesn't act on that knowledge, ie a senior manager condoning or knowing its happening and doing nothing about it.

I have been in the situation of having it offered and of it being expected to be offered on many occasions. It is not a practice I endorse or approve of in any way as it undermines the industries we are in and legitamate firms acting appropriately are penalised and in some cases go out of business because they wont behave in such a way. I am speaking generally and not about the specifics of this instance.

With regard to this instance, the situation has been going on for a while, is widely known that something was going on and it's good that these practices are stamped out esp when said individual was advertising his ill-gotten gains on a personal webite....doh!!

To the comments made above about lazy journalism...plase see above..... these comments were obviously made by someone at the London Legal firm of outsourcers or the perp at BMaK as no one elses lives would be affected or jobs lost!!