Origin have destroyed the firm and once they took control this was unfortunately always the inevitable outcome given how they treated key partners and clients who voted with their feet. They were never fit to run a law firm.

They will probably still be blaming others but everyone knows the truth and all paths lead to them.

We are not even sorry

The ten or so FSM’s left in the business suffer from a combination of stockholm syndrome and boiled from syndrome. 

You should all hang your heads in shame too for being hugely complicit in the destruction what was a good, profitable and friendly firm. You failed to question any ridiculous decisions that Origin took including sacking key partners and alienating others, and blindly supported and backed them.

No one else could destroy a firm in 3 years like Origin have done.

Fergie and Andrew have killed the place and have taken innocent staff with livelihoods and mortgages to pay, down with them. May they hang their heads in shame and have the graciousness not to try and pass the buck for this monumental catastrophe yet again.  

Maybe wait for people at Plexus to have chance to read the email before you post this…. Not the best way for some staff to find out

Did their CEO not tell RoF a matter of weeks ago that they had secured funding and the future was rosy. How can it go from that to telling staff today that they cannot guarantee being paid this month?!

probably the fault of the partners that exited 3 years ago.

More lies peddled……

A few years ago the firm had an enviable client base and a number of genuinely credible lawyers. Unfortunately this was systematically eroded by Origin, who didn’t understand the sector nor how to run a law firm. Once the leaders were vanquished or left of their own accord it was only a matter of time, and it surprising they lasted this long. Those who are left get out now. The sad remaining FSMs can whistle for their capital stakes and await their tax bills…

What do you get when you compile a board to run a law firm that has two private equity people with no experience in the services sector, a facilities manager, an IT person, a salesman and 1 non-practising lawyer? 
 

answers on a postcard

Gavin and Stacey should hang their heads in shame for what they have done to what was a good business.

For you have ruined something that could have been so great. You have played with people’s livelihoods and emotions as though they are insignificant and disposable. Hang your heads in shame for you have failed. 

Did Leicester City blame Martin O’Neil, Leeds blame Don Revie or Southampton blame big Lawrie? But Origin will blame everyone, and anyone, apart from…. Well you know the rest, or you should if you have been following this avalanche of disasters and disinformation .  Nostradamus predicted this. 

Everyone who has milked the firm dry, past and present, should be ashamed of themselves

Might be for sale but who the duck is going to buy that pile of shot.

The last minute news from Origin today was the first staff had heard from them since they announced the £5m emergency funding at the end of March.

No mention of conditions back then and it's sickening how some member partners have tried to sell  to employees the fantastical tale that the firm wasn't in trouble. Shame on you all.

Fully expect some of these very partners to be flying off elsewhere now that the inevitable has happened.

The irony of them telling various recruitment agencies they had changed and that it was a great place to work.  Well!

You really are all quiet now, aren’t you Liv.

The real loser in this is MacFarlanes. With Plexus’ demise they are set to miss out on a couple of million in fees each year making baseless allegations against those with the temerity to leave a sinking ship

If the Plexus management spent even half the time, energy and money on trying to run their business than they do chasing harassing, threatening and making spurious allegations against former and current employees or members, it wouldnt be in this mess.

Gavin and Stacey should be investigated 

Lions led by dung beetles.

If only the donkeys were still around to lead them.  It would never have happened. 

I feel very sorry for the junior paralegals chasing a training contract , the apprentices midway through their training, the trainee solicitors not yet qualified, as well as all the junior lawyers and staff who don’t form part of the management team. 
 

Those people work very hard for their money and they don’t deserve to lose their jobs. What will happen to those in training ? I hope they get looked after.
 

Having read all about Plexus on ROF I’m wondering who will buy them ? I’m not sure how they can come back from this ??? Very sad. 

Turn over the stones and find the lies Origin have been peddling you. Then go for them. You will have a very long queue of witnesses happy to help you. 

O is for Origin

O is for Olivia

0 is the return on investment

0 is the amount of capital the FSMs will get back

0 is the amount the creditors will receive

Oh f*** is what the private equity muppets said when they realised they’d backed the wrong horses.

Now get your coats and FO. 

Well done to those who saw the writing on the wall a mile off and go out of there ! Good luck to those still onboard 

The value of personal relationships.  Attack those who own them and you’re done.

They never really got it.

Can you spin this one Olivia?  Who ya gonna sue now?  

Just drive the firm into admin already, pay us what we are owed, and let us get on with better things to do….

Those left there must feel like right plumbs 

Waiting for the bitterness to erupt.. fine for those sat on loads of money that need to be prompted  that they have been paid.. there were some really nasty toxic individuals that have been rid.. .. not all origins fault… while you all clap your hands at plexus demise  think of those that are not partners that have young family’s  and mortgages….PA’s that live alone with mortgages .. not all of us are on huge wages.., this really does show the divide in us and them.. you are disgusting! 

Post the accounts, Post the accounts! Companies House is waiting and we want to see how much debt (Origin money) has been repaid in the last 12-18 months. No doubt that’s why there is no money left and staff are told they need work 24/7 to make sure that 99% of their pointless colleagues get paid this month. No thank you.

I love investigating a mcfraud

2 hours before the email of doom. HAPPY PRIDE MONTH from a random consultant who does nothing charging 10k per email no doubt …will the firm make it through the month of doom??? Answers to the consultant.

I know most that post on here do not like Origin, but we love Gavin and Stacey. They have done wonders for our PEP! We loved being the de facto managers of Plexus and we will miss them and the fees they generated for us dearly. 

when the @ aviation boy post comes true

If there are tax bills all FSMs are on the hook

resigning and running doesn’t remove your tax liability 😉

Law is a people business. We all know that. Well nearly all 🙄

I’ll buy it.

fiver? 

We are locked and loaded and ready to unleash some threatening letters.

But we need hard cash on account.

Have you got it? 

The partner that recently joined from Weightmans, despite being heavily counselled against such a move, must be realising what a catastrophic move he has made. Only been paid once and unlikely to be paid again. Great move 

Even Del Boy wouldn’t buy it 

How on earth did the owners of Plexus allow a CEO who had clearly lost the confidence of the partners and most importantly clients be allowed to remain in post for 4 years?!?! 
 

in fact, one might question who on earth would appoint a 37 year old CEO, with no experience as a CEO, never mind any experience in the legal or insurance industry. 
 

Will a post-mortem show up significant malfeasance? Can see a legal battle between Access and Origin soon. MacFarlanes win again!!

Origin website disappeared from internet. Curious. For anyone thats interested this is run by Gavin Loughrey and Olivia Roberts. No better tag team since the WWFs Natural Disasters. Or is Legion of Doom. I get confused

Shame on ROF for ignoring what was happening at Plexus for a good 12 months and swallowing Origen's story about £5 million funding.

For sale?  Pre-pack sale?

I feel terribly sorry for the staff.  The PE two and their pet partners have destroyed the firm.  
I remember the “we have no debt” nonsense.  Certain partners bought that and spouted it apparently oblivious to the structure of the group and who owed what to whom.

The blame game distraction tactics, unjustifiably building hatred and division, shows just how clueless the management team are.  
This debacle will end with the firm going into administration and a low ball asset sale.  There’s so little value left that it will be very difficult to rustle up a buyer willing to part with anything more than buttons.

This is precisely how plexus behaved the last time this happened. Didn’t tell the staff until it was reported in The Times. Nice to see things have changed.

There are some good people there and I hope they find something else quickly. 

No news on the COO who left last week. Where has he skulked off to?

Axiom - hello another troubled firm for you to buy to expand your tiny empire 

You knew it was bad when there was an habitual interim COO in the office and there had been no announcement about who she was. Total lack of disrespect for staff who work hard day in day out and have been loyal for years 

Any reason this isn't on the RoF home page at all? Like, even when you load more stories? I want my humiliation to be public, damnit! 

Who is to blame for the destruction in value?  
Is it at last time for the management team to reflect on their tenure in office?

Or will they continue to blame the previous management team?  The one’s who created so much value that PE wanted to buy it.

A Hedge fund might buy it for £1.

Seriously, what’s left to buy?

Those with the client relationships have already signed up with one of the few remaining Defendant insurance firms.  They and their clients are no longer Plexus assets. 

Every contract will terminate when Plexus almost inevitably goes into administration.  
The in-fighting and taking of sides over the past 18 months means that no Managing Partner worth their salt will want to bring in people who will continue their tribal warfare should they be reunited with those who have already left.

Historical feuds will also make things difficult.

And then there’s the issue of unpaid tax and FSM loans which need to be serviced.  

What a mess they’ve made of it. 
 

A sad day for all those loyal employees who were oblivious to the true state of affairs. I hope they can all find homes to go to.

 
A sad day for those former loyal employees who tried their best to challenge the regime of bullying, marginalisation and deception. I am sure none have any desire to say “I told you so”. BUT they did tell you so and instead you chose to believe the PE propaganda over those you had known and worked alongside for decades. You know who you are. 

As a ex-employee of the company who left last year after the current CEO shafting employees for their TUPE payment - I feel extremely sad for those that were again fed the fairytale of the company being in a rosey position etc, and stayed.  

Origin have come in and bled the company dry and then cut them loose with no regard whatsoever of the employees that have stayed loyal and made the money for them that they have pocketed to fund their lavish lifestyles.  Hopefully, karma will bite them in the ar*e bigtime.  Shame on you.

Envy led to rage,

Rage led to division,

Division led to administration,

Administration leads to panic,

Panic leads to contrition,

Contrition leads to sorrow,

Sorrow leads to desperate apologies.

Too late it is. 

Amazing what can transpire when dogs and cats merge against a common enemy. 

#thebaamovement 

Didn't this happen before with Plexus?! Once is unfortunate, twice is....

Flashbacks to Duke Street days.

It is a bit unseemly that those enjoying Plexus’ struggles are really actually enjoying it. That’s clear from the comments above demanding humiliation. Same for those saying they knew it all along but who didn’t want to contribute towards keeping jobs and livelihoods safe. It’s ok for the rich few who made millions with their deals - whether or not they were dodgy deals is for others to judge - but do us all a favour and move on.

Origin have messed it up. Not the partners or staff. Origin were only given that opportunity as 4 sold to them for millions, knowing, it seems, that Origin were terrible and a disaster waiting to happen. Still, that’s high finance for you. Some you win and some you lose.

Just wish the firm has been different all along. Shame the value allegedly built up by others in 2019 was smoke and mirrors. The firm was actually worthless in 2019 but was sold with a value of £30+m. We know how that ended of course once MacFarlanes got stuck in and sorted it out. £25m voluntarily paid back I’ve heard - cash and shares. Messy. SRA investigation still at an early stage I hear.

Final thought : There’s no shame in sticking around to protect the people around us. Stop bullying people for doing so. If everyone ran off the firm would be in administration. It is not as I type, merely up for sale. Just like the partners were in 2019, and they sold to the devil it seems. Nice for them off course. We all know who your are. 

Plexus is a good firm, with good clients, good work and, most importantly, good people working there. It's only the tip of the head that's rotten.

Feel a deep sadness for the people facing this for the second time, who just try and do a decent day's work. Great team spirit in individual teams helped to retain people, but any one directly exposed to the owners have been belittled if not on the favoured list. 

Unseemly - i like your sentiment but its naive and perhaps misses the point. Senior people could have left and taken people with them and in doing so protecting them. Many did that. It also suggests that junior people are oblivious to what is going in, which can be true but in this case doesnt stand up to scrutiny.

 I also think you are concentrating on a few partners but the reality is that Origin ‘exited’ many hard working, conscientious, long standing Plexus employees and members, many for very tenuous reasons with some quite serious allegations and threats to sue made, none of which were proven which led to considerable hurt and psychological damage.

i suspect those that are gleeful, are not as you suggest doing so at those left behind, but are genuinely glad to see Origin exited from this industry. 

To add some balance to your comments, many of the partners, even those that off their own volition, didnt want to leave but felt they had little choice. Many if the partners and senior stayed, not in heroic act to save others, but because money and extra status was thrown at them following the departure of those senior to them.

it is indeed a mess but not everything is blck and white

It’s clear that some people have Plexus people living in their heads rent free.

Hilarious.

Unless you have equity, run for the hills. Don't try and be a hero. You won't get the reward you deserve.

Thanks replier

Yes, fair comment and well put.
 

I can assure you that those still inside the firm are genuinely glad things are coming to a head. Things have to change. We all knew it wasn’t going well. There are no pet partners as postings seem to suggest. There have been plenty of disputes I can assure you. Staying put does not make anyone a pet. 
 

Some have moved on already. The rest will move on eventually one way or another. Our hope is that nobody gets harmed and loses their job. We are all fighting for that. 
 

This isn’t about those that got out enjoying the current struggles. Those that had the fortitude and courage to leave when they were a lone voice battling against the underhand and deceptive behaviours of PE and their entourage, did not have an easy time. But they followed their moral compass and hoped that others would follow suit. When the titanic is sinking, you grab a life boat and hope that other passengers will do likewise. But you cannot allow yourself to drown because others are blind, ignorant or too cowardly to grab the next available lifeboat. The failings, incompetence and arrogance of Origin has left deep scars on all of us. No one has truly escaped this debacle. 

The discrepancy between the pay of the legal assistants/trainees/junior lawyers compared to the equity partners was monumental. In 2012 they were still paying graduate positions (client/administrators legal assistants) £13k. I don't expect things have changed much. When I read about the huge payouts to Burt and Baker, I was appalled; to pay millions to a couple of partners, when the lower ranks qualified for universal credit because their pay was so low is just despicable.

It goes to the heart of what was wrong with the business. People worked very hard at Plexus. They put the hours in, they were capable people who desperately wanted to break into the legal profession and thought Plexus was a legitimate firm to start their career. But it wasn't. It swallowed up good people, kept them down and didn't care about them.  Plexus should have paid fairly throughout peoples careers and not used people. 

There was so much wrong about the firm that I am not surprised it is where it is now. I just hope the good eggs can jump ship into something better. Good luck to you all. 

Two thumbs down to my earlier comment. Good to know Gavin and Stacey have read it.

Gavin and Stacey series 4. The series nobody wanted. Unfunny and downright incompetent. 

Sh*thouse!

I would how many of you were offered 30 pieces of silver to disseminate the propaganda? 🤔

I’d like to do a dissertation on this.

Could somebody please direct me to the shakers and movers?

In Gav and Liv we trust.

They will sort us out and make everything work.

They’ve assured us throughout and we’ve followed them.

Are we idiotic lemmings? Or are we part of a master plan?

Sing me a song you’re the umbrella boy

sing me a song tonight

cuz you were in love with Olivia 

but now you’re not feeling alright …..

Well there's been a lot of comments by those who have left the business ( the Plexiteers ) because the CEO would not share financial info nor did she understand the sector and those who stayed and hoped for the best ( the Remainers ). On this occasion I think the Remainers got it wrong.

I can’t believe we have got away with it again!

adios FSMs

Saw this coming as soon as I met the CEO and realised she was a carbon copy of the Duke St one. History repeating itself. No lessons learned. 

Houses for sale in trendy Chorlton next anyone!

No insurer is going to send any work to a firm heading for administration.  It is well and truly done.

Lots of Plexiteers who ran are saying how many jobs they saved. As far as I can tell, not one Plexiteer took someone from accounts or HR or IT or facilities to their luxury new firm. They looked after themselves. Very few took any fee earners. At least 5 aren’t actually working right now! 
 

Fair enough if course, but don’t suggest you are somehow the salvation. You aren’t. 
 

I’m not saying you were wrong or did the wrong thing. Who am I to Judge? BUT, you didn’t save anyone from worry or help them stay employed. Those who milked the firm and sold out for cash to poor buyers in fact have a lot to answer for. Staff in the firm certainly think so. 
 

One thing we can all agree on is that Origin are a shower. 

I’ve seen some utter horsesh@t spouted but 09.43 takes the biscuit.  Those who sold were the owners and had a right to sell if they wished to do so.  They created value and they took some money off the table.  So what?

The purchaser was not only clueless but was also absolutely hopeless.  They have made a series of inept mistakes and the firm is now teetering on the brink.  Direct your ire at them and yourself for being a mug.  

Hopefully clients can step in here and shift their work to other panel firms and hopefully secure the transfer of staff. Advice to juniors and support staff… you are marketable there’s a wider employment market outside of the non profitable insurance law sector. Partners: maybe time for a career change! It’s horrible now but hoping all secure something better than this. 

Karma is a B

So mock away. Says more about you than me. 
 

Everyone needs to remember some people want Plexus to fail so it frees them from their covenants. They don’t want a successor practice. They post on here to try and ensure that. 
 

Meanwhile, hardworking professionals are serving their clients and promoting something to keep 700 odd people employed. 

To Anonymous 10.36. First bit of common sense and absolute truth spoken.
It’s the old adage that hindsight is a wonderful thing but the owners cannot possibly be held responsible for Origin’s monumental ineptitude. It was a business deal pure and simple. Origin knew what they were getting into. 2 mill spent on DD, for goodness sake! Many of those denouncing the owners were massive supporters of Origin when they thought/were told there was something in it for them. The only problem was, they had to get rid of those who sought to challenge the new management as a condition. And they did it willingly and without any moral fibre. 
He who casts the first stone….

Have you been at the glue?!? Where are all the comments from people saying they took others and saved them?!?!

and frankly no matter how junior you are, if you worked in HR, IT or accounts you will be seeing how bad a state the firm is in given the steady flow of people exiting the business, the clients that are removing their instructions and how dire the finances are. 

Clearly more tosh from someone without the stones to have left until it was too late. 

There is a universal assumption (by the Remainers) that the Origin Two would have behaved differently in different circumstances.  

Fool you once …..

It seems unlikely anyone would want to buy Plexus now? It’s just a dumpster fire of a firm, hard to see anyone who’d want it? 

Enough said….. 

@21:43

and yet, STILL better than Keoghs

This firm has been poorly led in the various forms of management under the old and current regime. Poor communication internally and actually peddling mistruths comes home to roost eventually. Some real transparency is now needed. The blame game needs to stop. 

There are good PE investors and there are bad PE investors.  Plexus appears to have found the worst of the worst.  
Just like with an episode of Laurel and Hardy, it’s hard to decipher just how they got themselves into such a mess; they just did.

And now a much weakened and devalued firm is up for sale.  A solvent sale, you say?

Is there really any chance of that happening?  I cannot see it myself but the coming weeks will prove to be very interesting, not least because we will to be treated to some self-serving comms from the PE 2 who will no doubt try and shift the blame, again.

Keoghs here ….. hahahahahahahahahahaha

Who are Keoghs? Are they loss adjusters? 

I'm going to make millions out of this firm, we are all going to make millions!

Quote from Origins website, hang on its vanished!

Can we atleast get a donut Liv? 

So sad to read this, but even from the outside fresh air world this is not a surprise.  The very first sniff of Origin was enough for me to bail, and I am very glad I did.  No surprise at all to then read of massive pay offs and 6 month or year long garden leaves for the pushed out few who spoke out, while the many waited it out in hope, but once PE are involved on the board it’s ultimately Duke Street all over again and curtains.  Many good people will now be going through very uncertain and worrying times and that’s awful.

Atleast give us a donut Liv

If you’re looking for a buyer I wouldn’t knock Keoghs… there aren’t many players left in the market…

You only have to look at LinkedIn to see that post announcement Plexus staff are jumping ship. Can hardly blame them.