EXCLUSIVE Baines Wilson partner angers sacked support staff with new sports car

_{Conversely, nobody gets that jealous when they spot the orange Rofmobile}

A Baines Wilson partner enraged sacked support staff, by turning up to work in a flashy new sports car, RollOnFriday has been told.

Knights purchased Baines Wilson in June. As RollOnFriday reported back then, the firm's founder John Wilson, who was serving as a consultant at the time of the sale, wasn’t impressed with the cull of staff that followed the sale.

A source has now told RollOnFriday that an employment partner at Baines Wilson who had signed off on the sale, “sold up” and showed off the money he had pocketed as he “rolled into work in a newly purchased bright orange McLaren sports car," which "needless to say” went down “like a truly golden turd.”

RollOnFriday contacted Knights, but the firm declined to comment.

As previously reported, John Wilson had said in a LinkedIn post that he was "particularly saddened that all the support staff" were made redundant. Including his wife. “This is very much NOT how I hoped things would work out – but it has,” he said.

“First thing they do - lay all support people off. Nice touch”, said a source, shortly after Knights acquired Baines Wilson. A Knights spokesperson said at the time that "due to the duplication of support staff roles" there had been "a reduction in those roles following the acquisition".

Partners splashing their cash on expensive cars is not uncommon at law firms; but to turn up to work in a new, showy sports car when you've just shafted your staff seems to be tactless.

It's not the first time something like this has happened in the legal world: when Hill Dickinson won the Golden Turd in 2016 several staff described the unfortunate contrast of senior management buying "some very expensive cars" a fortnight before announcing more job cuts, with one suggesting, "They live on a different planet". Although Hill Dicks seems to have cleaned up its act since then and managed to avoid winning the Golden Turd again.

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Comments

Grubby

An orange McLaren, really? There are cheaper ways to mask your shortcomings, maybe just stuff some socks down your trousers - it would be cheaper and more subtle.

Does said McLaren have a private reg “Pr1ck”

Waste of cash.

Should have bought a Lambo.

"A Baines Wilson partner enraged sacked support staff, by turning up to work in a flashy new sports car, RollOnFriday has been told."

Serves them right for hanging around in the car park.

Should have been down the Job Centre not malingering around the bins at their former place of work.

Who are Baines Wilson?

Baines Wilson sounds like a footballer.

Midlife crisis step one - sports car. Next step - motor bike then tattoo.

An orange McClaren? There are much cheaper ways to tell people that you have a small package

tbf orange - well, papaya - is the iconic McLaren racing colour.

Looks a bit weird on the littlun’s pushchair though.

Rubbing salt in wounds!

Jed 04 August 23 12:38

Financial package all that matters. Eyooooooo

Throwing disgusting levels of money at t**ts like this for his high street firm whilst the rest get below average pay rises. Get out while you can

Oh dear. Does the ex partner in question not have someone at home to give him guidance on what is and isn’t appropriate in the circumstances? Silly man.

Small D**k Energy as my kids say. Hope the staff made redundant have all found new jobs. It’s a difficult climate for those with jobs never mind being made redundant and then having to see things like this. Very tasteless.

Is anyone from the area surprised? Baines Wilson lost its good name long ago. It was like a revolving door of personnel. Perhaps this is an indication as to why - fish rot from the head sadly.

What a daft move. Probably thought he was being clever. No self awareness.

Whilst not a very emotionally sensitive, why does buying a top of the lime sports car have to do with the size of his manhood? The guy’s rich, why not buy it? Too many green eyed monsters here. Enjoy driving around in your clapped out Fiats.

The act of buying an orange McClaren tells you all you need to know about the guy. He hardly wanted to go under the radar with it did he. Brave move in such a small area. Money does bizarre things to people.

I’m not sure any of the comments are from a place of jealousy but rather shock that someone can pull a stunt so lacking in morality and awareness. It’s emotionally insensitive at best. Buy the car but don’t rub it in the faces of the staff who lost their jobs in the midst of an economic crisis and the remaining staff who no doubt lost some long term colleagues. The clapped out Fiat comment stinks of new money.

I imagine the staff left at Baines Wilson are used to this level of fu*kery from the partners now.

Can’t be much change left from the sale after that purchase. We are talking about a small firm in the back end of nowhere. It’s hardly City levels. Ego driven. “The guy is rich” lol, calm down big spender.

If this guy tried to offer any words of support to those being made redundant or worse, tried to suggest it wasn’t his/their decision and he/they were just as upset as everyone else, those words will have became entirely baseless the second he pulled up in that car. I thought lawyers were supposed to be intelligent?!

Cock Womble firm, Cock Womble partners.

Just following the management example and getting stuck in to the “great culture”. There’s no hierarchy at Knights but there’s always somewhere to put my Bentley and the Mrs’ when she pops in

What an absolute tool. Small man syndrome I'm guessing. Bet he sticks out like a luminous badger's ar*e in Carlisle driving that thing.

I knew a ops director that spent all morning on the Porsche configuration web page , left his desk to officially announce redundancies to a whole team and came straight back to finish his selection. He turned up a few weeks later in the new car.