Devonshires: The Revenge

Last week RollOnFriday reported that Devonshires had gone back on its staff bonuses. It prompted the following email from the firm's Senior Partner. Enjoy.


From: Allan Hudson Sent: 24 June 2011 11:37 To: All Staff Subject: Roll on Friday There is an article about the firm in Roll on Friday. By all means read it. RoF is best when it pokes fun at the profession. The first time we featured I gave them a quote to add to the fun - we can and we do laugh at ourselves.¹ This time it is different. This is an attack on the firm and includes fascinating imaginings as to EP earnings. If you would all please double your hours maybe I can earn that £1.2m.² If you have a grievance about the fee earner bonus system then by all means raise it internally.³ Raising it externally in this way is for me a real personal disappointment. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on a firm and on the people in it whom I deeply cherish.⁴; You all know you enjoy my utmost respect. We are all working so hard together to pull through the worst recession in living memory.⁵ Everyone knows that there have been problems with the bonus system this year and we are going to review it to make sure we get it right next year.⁶ People who are good at what they do and help us grow the business deserve to be rewarded. What is not in doubt though is that despite the recession the overall bonus paid to fee earners has increased significantly this year. I hope you will share my disappointment.⁷ Allan.

From: Allan Hudson
Sent: 24 June 2011 11:37
To: All Staff
Subject: Roll on Friday

There is an article about the firm in Roll on Friday.

By all means read it.

RoF is best when it pokes fun at the profession. The first time we featured I gave them a quote to add to the fun - we can and we do laugh at ourselves.¹

This time it is different. This is an attack on the firm and includes fascinating imaginings as to EP earnings. If you would all please double your hours maybe I can earn that £1.2m.²

If you have a grievance about the fee earner bonus system then by all means raise it internally.³

Raising it externally in this way is for me a real personal disappointment. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on a firm and on the people in it whom I deeply cherish.⁴; You all know you enjoy my utmost respect. We are all working so hard together to pull through the worst recession in living memory.⁵

Everyone knows that there have been problems with the bonus system this year and we are going to review it to make sure we get it right next year.⁶ People who are good at what they do and help us grow the business deserve to be rewarded. What is not in doubt though is that despite the recession the overall bonus paid to fee earners has increased significantly this year.

I hope you will share my disappointment.⁷

Allan.

1. Unless it's about you shafting your staff, eh Allan?

2. You have refused to confirm what your partners do make, presumably because you don't want your social housing clients to know. But one of your partners was recently heard boasting about this to anyone who would hear it, so let's take his word for it.

3. Your staff did. One insider complains that he was told "there's nothing we can do about it" and "I don't have time to deal with this now".

4. It's not an attack on the firm, it's an attack on you and your tightwad partners.

5. Recession our orange arse. Insiders say that you beat your targets "by a mile" last year but still refuse to increase salaries.

6. Yeah, next year, great. What about this year?

7. They've let you down, they've let the firm down but most of all they've let themselves down.

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