Exclusive: 100 redundancies at Pannone

Around 100 staff are to be made redundant at UK firm Pannone after the firm was acquired by Aussie behemoth Slater & Gordon.

S&G has been running round the UK picking up PI firms. First Russell Jones & Walker, then Fentons, and now, following an annoucement to the Australian Stock Exchange on 27th November, Pannone. The firm's 27 full equity partners will pocket £33m between them. Merry Christmas.

Although things aren't quite so jolly for those further down the foodchain, as 100 staff have been offered voluntary redundancy. The firm has apparently stressed that there will be no compulsory redundancies, although an insider tells RollOnFriday that at the same time Pannone has made it clear to these 100 people that "they probably won't have jobs in SG". As an American would say, go figure.

Pannone staff's new choice-o-meter yesterday

Pannone has previously managed the statistical improbability of winning the top legal spot in the The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For survey seven years in a row. Until RollOnFriday revealed that it gave out cakes for nice results.

A spokeswoman wouldn't comment on the redundancies.

Don't accept cake bribes. Voting is now open for the RollOnFriday Firm of the Year 2014.

Tip Off ROF

Comments

This is a shame about people losing there jobs, but it's a great opportunity with these two firms joining together, will offer a great alternative to the faceless machine of Irwin Mitchell and Slater & Gordon have a heart, you only have to look at the great work they have done down under.

Pannone was a great firm but it had picked up a bit of dead wood over time, this merger will help remove that dead wood.

The majority of the staff that will be taking redundancy are support staff. The solicitors that will take it do not fit in to either S&G or Pannone Corporate's areas of specialism. Hardly 'dead wood'. Perhaps you should learn the difference between 'their' and 'there' and learn how to write a sentence before commenting.

Comment at 11.45; seems obvious that you float, like a branch that has fallen from a tree, what's that called again? Oh yes deadwood.

Anonymous user at 11.45
No room in either boat for you, you poor bugger? Perhaps you should consider an alternative profession, teaching perhaps? You know what they say, those that can and then. After all you seem to like pulling people up on grammar etc.

I do enjoy it when comments on stories descend into insults traded between those commenting, rather than on the original story. Keep up the good work!

not sure there will be much of the £33m left once the debts paid off

11.45 is actually correct. I am at another Manchester firm. We are seeing quite a few CVs from the 'dead wood' category. These are people in the non-consumer specialisms that dont fit with S&G and dont seem to fit with the low grade commercial piece that seem to be going to 'Pannone Corporate' (there's a misnamed entity). Very good candidates and we are about to offer a couple jobs. Hardly "dead wood".

The reality of Pannone is that they are outstanding in PI and Clinical negligence , pretty good in family law and a few other private client areas but on the commercial side of the firm it's a very mixed picture. There are some good areas and some rubbish ones. I will be surprised if the banking lawyers at Pannone, who arent going to S&G or Pannone Corporate, find a home anywhere.

The Pannone PI team have been told to be "sensitive" to the job losses and not celebrate too openly the fact that they are finally free of the rubbish commercial depts...