liv

That negotiation in full.


Plexus has filed a notice of its intention to appoint administrators.

Staff have blamed the firm’s private equity backer for destroying the business after it u-turned on its decision to provide emergency funding.

Last Thursday a source provided RollOnFriday with a running account of an internal meeting at which it was revealed that Origin Equity had withdrawn its promise to provide £5m, and that the firm was being put up for sale. “Interpath and Pinsent Masons instructed. They’ve just mentioned ROF ha ha”, said the mole.

Earlier that week a source claimed that Chief Operating Officer Adam Nabozny, the Financial Director, and the Head of HR were all leaving the firm, and that a dozen partners had also jumped, while a recruitment freeze had been put in place.

It is the second time that a private equity business has arrived to save the firm and then failed to do so. In 2012 Duke Street purchased Parabis - the larger company of which the firm was part – but three years later Parabis collapsed into administration as well.

A group led by original founders Andrew McDougall and Tim Roberts bought out the defendant PI business and rebranded it as Plexus.

It was heading the same way as Parabis until Origin Equity invested £15m in 2019. A few months later, Plexus CEO McDougall and Roberts were out, and Origin partner Olivia Roberts was in as the firm’s new CEO.

But a hefty red flag appeared in January this year when the firm's 2020-21 accounts arrived almost a year late containing an admission that the previous filings had understated the firm's creditors by more than £3m, overstated profits, inflated equity partner's average earnings by £40k, and failed to discount £2m of bad debts. It also disclosed a series of multi-million payments to and from its former owners.

Plexus had previously insisted that the business was in “robust financial health with a strong balance sheet”, but when rumours of crisis talks reached ROF, the firm admitted in a statement in March that it was seeking an emergency injection of capital from Robert's other gig, Origin, “to put the business on a stable footing for the long term”. 

It insisted that “claims that Plexus is about to become insolvent are false” and laid the blame for its difficulties squarely on the McDougall era, alleging that the “extremely serious multi-million pound financial irregularities” were "hidden from new management for more than a year” and had been intended to "increase profits artificially”.

In March a source close to the former owners told ROF that Origin was trying to shift the blame from its own failures: “Plexus is where it is now as a result of the management style and behaviours of the PE owners from late 2019 onwards which has seen the firm haemorrhage lead partners, lawyers and clients”, he said, branding it a “Typical PE approach”.

Origin’s subsequent conduct appeared to chime with the worst stereotypes of high finance when the firm confirmed to ROF (after much wiggling on a hook) that Origin had u-turned on its promise of emergency funding, plunging the firm's 700-odd staff into uncertainty as the business was put up for sale and, now, placed on the path to administration.

In a statement it said, “Plexus was successful in securing additional funding from its investors in March 2023." [Translation: is there any way we can we get the word ‘successful’ into this confirmation of total disaster?]

“This funding was needed due to the ongoing impact of serious financial irregularities discovered by management after Plexus was acquired in 2019." [Blame the last lot, not us!]

“The terms of the new investment were subject to a number of conditions." [When we said the investment was ‘secured’, what we meant was, 'in no way secured'.]

“Unfortunately, after a period of negotiation, we have been unable to broker the necessary agreements to meet all of those conditions." [Our CEO's negotiations with herself did not go well.] 

“As a result, investor support has been withdrawn." [We’re doing a runner. Good luck, bye.]

“Up until this point, the business’ underlying trading has been running in line with its forecast." [Token appeal to potential purchasers.]

“In these circumstances, we are now looking to raise fresh funds for the firm from a new investor. This may involve a sale or merger of part or all of the business with another firm." [We're going to file for administration.]

When ROF broke the news of the intention to sell, staff expressed their dismay.

“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”, said one. “They will probably still be blaming others but everyone knows the truth and all paths lead to them.”

“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?!” said another.

“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”, said one. 

Some took aim at Plexus partners for failing to fight when they had the chance. “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”, said an individual unaware of Ince and Metamorph.

Referring to the company’s overdue 2021-22 accounts, one person called on the firm to “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.”

Former Plexus staff expressed sympathy for those now facing difficult times.

“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 rosy position, etc, and stayed”, said an ex-employee.  

“Origin have come in and bled the company dry and then cut them loose with no regard whatsoever...Hopefully, karma will bite them in the ar*e bigtime. Shame on you.”

“The very first sniff of Origin was enough for me to bail, and I am very glad I did", said another: "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”.


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Comments

Very sad 09 June 23 09:09

This is sad news. I hope everyone is ok and that a buyer brings better times for all concerned. 

Basket Case 09 June 23 09:09

Slater & Gordon also springs to mind it only took them 3 years to tank the business! Why no news on them for a while….  

Good people 09 June 23 09:22

Lots of great people work at Plexus. Some are my good friends. Hope all are doing ok and that this gets sorted ASAP. 

Bargain 09 June 23 09:28

Whoever buys will get a bargain. Good luck to them. If they can give a safe place for Plexus people to flourish, then that would be great. Most have been through too much and deserve a break. 

Don’t call me germ! 09 June 23 09:29

Absolutely disgusting the way they have ALL behaved 

Not only has Origin dumped us so has the COO FD and Head of HR. Have they got something to hide? Origin have not been present for a long time. Anyone looking for investment from these two should steer clear of Origin. It so obvious they don’t have a clue. They couldn’t even run a market stall.

Anonymous 09 June 23 09:38

dissappointing the partners have put their interests and agendas above the interests of the 700 other people who are now losing their jobs

Strategist 09 June 23 09:38

Very interesting. Plexus has a very large office in Leeds City Centre with hundreds of fee earners and quality support staff. Surely a great fit for an insurance firm looking to ramp up or launch in Leeds, but then I am a strategist!

This a no doubt a good lesson for everyone in the importance of leadership, and picking the right buyer when selling! 

Anonymous 09 June 23 09:43

I'm intrigued as to why they even have any lawyers left? The writing has been on the wall for ages.

Are the remaining lawyers stupid to recognise the signs or just unable to get jobs elsewhere? I don't mean it disrespectfully but I just don't understand why lawyers would ever remain at somewhere like Plexus or Metamorph.

Fingers crossed 09 June 23 09:56

Hope this gets sorted soon so that good people can keep working and paying mortgages etc. One thing for sure is that whoever buys Plexus will get some very good lawyers and support teams, all of whom will be very pleased to join a new outfit and move away from Origin. 

Hold them to account 09 June 23 10:01

There are no surprises here.  Two out of their depth muppets bring their aggressive and confrontational style into a law firm and keep attacking until there’s absolutely nothing of value left.

I cannot wait for the Administrator’s report and I do hope the Administrator interviews every single existing and former partner so that they can tell the real story.  There will be no hiding place for the muppets if that happens.  

Anonymous 09 June 23 10:07

But don't forget, nobody wants a job at Skadden for megabucks because they make you come into the office. 

Coincidence? 09 June 23 10:18

Firstly, the kind and supportive comments on this article are warmly welcomed by those of us quietly bracing for the chop. Thank you. It's certainly true that lots of very talented and genuinely lovely people work very hard here. We will be an asset to whomever we end up with, even if I do say so myself.

Secondly, as I trawled the comments on last week's story, I noted repeated use of the acronym "FSM". You'll have to forgive me, but what with it being a stressful time and all that, I couldn't quite figure out what that stood for (I am an insurance lawyer, after all). So I Googled "FSM member" in the hope I'd be enlightened. 

I was immediately directed to the website of the Faecal Sludge Management Alliance. In the particular circumstances, that somehow seemed terribly apt. Can't think why. Coincidence? I think not.

Hopefully someone out there will find this little anecdote as amusing as I did, and it will raise a whiff of a smile in a troubling time.

It will all be OK, everyone, and we will come out the other side - whatever happens - thriving in the end. Try not to panic. Life finds a way. Enjoy the sunshine over the weekend if you're lucky enough to get any.

feelingbrill 09 June 23 10:22

Does the SRA ever take regulatory action for failure on ‘the business of running a law firm’ as opposed to legal conduct? Does it have the power to do so?

Digger Dave 09 June 23 10:45

You need to do some digging on Companies House... Origin Equity is run by Olivia and her husband but has little in terms of assets. They setup another company Honey Investco Ltd - which they have voting control of but the money and financial control comes via Access Co-Investments Fund Buy-Out Europe Lp. My amateur sleuthing shows by looking at the names on the filings that Access Capital Partners are probably the people with the deep pockets.

Boston PI Lawyer 09 June 23 10:47

Meanwhile, since I own, I don't worry about the administrators and do whatever I want. On Tuesday I settled a PI case for $1,500,000, which provides a legal fee for me in the amount of $500,000......on a single case....which I can use to buy a failing legal business named Plectrum or something in the UK because I love wasting money and never want to see a dime of that half a mil again. 

But, as the owner, I can make Deborah from Finance dance on top of the big conference table for me while begging me to help her out with her mortgage payment.

For you, the woman who makes you re-do all of your billing requests every month to her preferred specification. For me an exotic dancer who says please like she means it.

That's the choice you have made. Own.

Keep going! 09 June 23 11:11

I left some time ago for unrelated reasons but to all the good people still there who work very hard for their clients, keep going and it will be ok!

Anonymous 09 June 23 11:12

@Boston PI lawyer

When all is said and done you're still a personal injury ambulance chaser. 

Boston PI Lawyer 09 June 23 12:13

As the owner of the ambulance I don't need to worry about chasing it and can make Deborah put on a cute little nurses outfit and come and pick me up in it whenever I like.

Meanwhile, you are obliged to wait for several hours for an NHS ambulance to arrive to attend to you and your ulcerated hernias, which you have suffered as a result of years of overwork for asshole partners while worrying about your spouse's fidelity.

Own your firm.

Liechtenstein lovers 09 June 23 12:39

Seems to be business as usual on the ground with everyone still coming in and busting a gut. What a contrast to the owners who have done a runner. Probably on holiday in Liechtenstein or some other tax haven

McDoogal from magic Roundabout could have run a firm better 09 June 23 12:42

Anonymous 11.:12 - if we are going to be accurate, Plexus are technically ambulance chaser chasers ... they are insurance lawyers not Claimant lawyers.  If you are going to be a tool, at least be a sharp one.  I also hope all the staff get some kind of news re the future asap.  

Anonymous 09 June 23 13:16

@12:42

 

You thought that was so clever when you typed it. Plexus are ambulance chaser defenders, not ambulance chaser chasers.  

Ner ner ner ner 09 June 23 13:31

It sounds like Plexus is now on life support in the ambulance and won’t be chasing or defending much in the future.  

The Book of Plexodus 09 June 23 13:46

Some may be interested to know that for Plexus employees working in-house on one of it's insurer clients contracts, ROF's original article on this was the first news they heard of the financial collapse. 2 days later, no official announcement, yet the HR and Comms team, including the HR Business Partner, were touting for work on LinkedIn. Administrators were appointed and then the next day, an announcement was kindly made. Absolute chaos and disregard for employees is the norm.

There are a lot of good people working at Plexus but the management and HR structure stinks, communication has always been poor, and many employees still didn't have a decision on whether bonuses from 2021/22 were going to be paid before this latest crisis. And to top it off, redundancies were made in March 2023 - imagine surviving that only to be plunged into another mess of managements making.

 

13.46 comment 09 June 23 13:51

I can definitively confirm that bonuses from 2021/22 will be paid.  Cheques will be couriered to you via a pink unicorn over the coming days.

Thank you for all of your hard work in 2020/2021.

Liv 

Agree with the book of plexodus 09 June 23 14:19

Here Here about the HR team! All openly posting on Linkedin that they are looking for a new job with total disregard for their colleagues. We appreciate we are all in the same boat but have some sensitivity and send your CV out! Not all of us have the inside track as they seem too and staff are supposed to be contacting them for support. Blah!

After the horses have bolted 09 June 23 15:08

What was the SRA doing that it allowed a husband and wife team with no experience of running a professional services firm to become CEO and Chairman of this business. What oversight and checks and balances did the SRA put in place? Surely this should be SRAs focus now or do they have no remit given the horses have bolted? Clarification welcomed.

Shaun 09 June 23 15:13

Still waiting for the weekly Friday Round Up email. I’m sure that will clear all of this up so we can get down to the Winchester for a cold pint. 

Weekly round up girl 09 June 23 15:46

probably won’t be one as they are all too busy on linkedin sorting themselves out

Plex on the beach 09 June 23 15:50

Life comes at a Plexus HR business partner pretty fast.

One day you're making someone redundant for sending GIF's, the next you're selling yourself for work on LinkedIn before having the courtesy of telling all your staff the company has gone belly up.

Plexus is the Pitts.

No surprise here 09 June 23 15:52

I am afraid we shouldn’t be surprised here.
 

Some pocketed a lot of cash when Duke St invested, then when they went into admin the first time the main select few who sold to Duke St bought it back for peanuts and lived off the WIP and debt acquired for a while - pocketing more cash. Then when that was running down and the writing was on the wall - the same people sold a chunk to Origami - folding more cash again (see what I did there?). If you follow the money you get three sizeable chunks of gain for a select few. History and context is everything. 

 

Three times a plexus FSM 09 June 23 16:35

For some egos to have been burnt when Halliwells collapsed and then when Plex1 went down and now a 3rd time with this mess you have to wonder what where they smoking in Chorlton.  Also what kind of advice could these people give to clients about minimising financial exposure in PI cases when they now face financial ruin and unpaid tax bills.  Its the junior lot I feel sorry for as they work hard and were paid/treated badly and then not given the integrity to be told the true position of the dumpster fire happening around them.  

Horrid resources 09 June 23 16:43

Decent HR teams faced with an administration should be the last people standing when the door is shut. Walking away is despicable but it will be on your CV. The next rung down are sadly then in control. And that’s a scary prospect .. as you say Plex on the beach..it’s the pits… 

Plexus schmexus 09 June 23 18:52

Feel for the poor sods who had a training contract lined up to start in September.  I wonder whether other firms will pick them up, or whether it's back to the drawing board?  

 

 

Anon 09 June 23 20:27

The silence is deafening since all the HR bods touted themselves on LinkedIn, one by one within hours of each other, while we all say wondering what it is they know that we don't. As Horrid Resources said the HR team should be the last out of the door, turning the lights off. Disgraceful. Not that I should be surprised.  

GAVIN and stacey 09 June 23 20:54

There’s no way you turn a profitable business into this in 3 years. You have definitely been getting your money out bit by bit so you break even and then SEE YA. Hopefully the FCA has its eyes on Gavin and Stacey (emphasis on Gavin using his wife as a human shield to insulate himself from everything as this post proves)

Anon 09 June 23 21:19

Underneath all of this is insurance companies who don’t pay enough to keep these firms going. BLM, now Plexus. DACB tried a sell off, but that was stopped. It’s time to tell the insurance companies to stuff it and do some decently paid work. 

Chorlton 09 June 23 21:33

I have no idea what the Chorlton references mean and guessing it’s up north. Hey ho Chorlton, Chorlton, Chorlton 

Too bad, so sad, bye bye 09 June 23 22:18

Having worked at Plexus previously I can’t say that this is a huge surprise. The amount of infighting between people and others refusing to accept responsibility for failures or obvious mistakes was staggering. I hope that the hard working, decent and honest people left there (granted not that many) get a job. As for the backstabbing, bottom sniffing ones who would sell their own granny to avoid blame….Karma has arrived and it has arrived in spades

Anonymous 09 June 23 23:05

imo this business model does not work but it has been driven by the industry. hey do you want to do all this high volume low value crap for free. If you do we promise we will give you a few good cases in london. The actual good work in the business has no correlation to this and has been developed by a few partners who actually have a reputation and know the law. hopefully they split the two parts of the business finally and people who are actually lawyers and have worked hard can be free from the hell of supporting a failing business model because of ridiculous restrictive covenants. I fear for other firms that are on the same path and will inevitably end up the same. Leave the crap with the ABS’s and stay with the lawyers that have given their all

Anon 09 June 23 23:20

where’s @ aviation boy… come out come out wherever you are … and the rest of you that couldn’t get enough of origin when they bothered to expense a train ticket to yorkshire #stockholmsyndromeleeds 

Insurers take note 10 June 23 09:22

Over the last 20 years the insurance sector have pushed and pushed these firms to cut costs and operate on very thin margins. There have been many casualties as a result. Who will be next? Time for a rethink. 

Anonymous 10 June 23 10:27

Its a debacle but the elephant in the room has been touched upon above. Stop being insurance company bitches. Stop accepting ridiculously low fixed fee work. The hourly rates are becoming so low that turning a decent profit is nearly impossible. 

G is for 10 June 23 12:37

G is for God you knew nothing about the law

A is for Age Gap

V is for Venture capitalist you wish

I is for Investment to nowhere

N is for Not sorry to see you gone 

Eggery 10 June 23 14:19

I am very sorry to hear this.

I am a referrer.

To all the great Plexus teams, the service you give my clients is second to none and as long as you can keep your legal teams together, I don’t give a damn about your owners.

Best wishes to all of you 

 

 

One of Aviation Boy’s Trainees 11 June 23 13:48

He’s still here. Serving his clients and helping his colleagues to hold the fort while the firm transitions. He has also spent a lot of time keeping us fully informed and in a 2 hour briefing (which we all valued greatly last week) he told us he is almost proud of the trolling he gets and he literally laughed it off.  

In the meantime keep flying high, as we need our TCs and know how hard you are fighting for us. 

 

Follow the money 11 June 23 14:29

Where did the tax rebates and the money they got back from the sellers go to? 
 

It started here 11 June 23 16:38

Plexus were one of the 1st to race to the bottom.  They offered £85-95 per hour to secure work.  Then fixed fees arrived and they all openly accepted it.  Where is BLM now... they touted themselves as being the best insurance firm by 2024 or earlier but instead imploded and were snapped up.   This biz model  is,set up to fail. 

Investigation 11 June 23 16:57

Once the dust has settled there will be a big inquest into all of this and then the truth will come out and we’ll find out just how this all happened. Let’s hope so anyway. 

Seeking explanation 11 June 23 17:22

Can someone explain to me how this Origin company bought Plexus in the first place and why Plexus sold to them. Seems like a very odd decision. 

Once a weasel always a weasel 11 June 23 20:21

I see aviation boy has taken down his previous posts about Liv and her great leadership. So predictable now he’s realised she can’t further his career anymore. No doubt he will now stand up and lead his team and others. Oh no, he hasn’t. He’s passed the buck, again, now the goings got tough. What a surprise. Not. 

Making every buck you can 11 June 23 22:45

Re-reading the last filed accounts of this firm and it seems one of the Evesham partners even part owned an office and made money off leasing it (see page 25). It’s probably relatively small change compared to what they are paid, but this screams the type of self interest which has no place in the legal profession and is indicative of people having their fingers in too many pies

Look at the other articles on ROF 11 June 23 23:43

If you think you have it bad, please read the comments on the “In-house lawyers give diverse opinions on diversity” article on the home page. Full of awful sexist and racist comments from lawyers. Having worked in the Plexus London office in years gone by one of its great assets was its people - approachable, supportive and inclusive - unfortunately I have not had the same experience at similar firms. Wishing everyone at Plexus well

Explain the T’s and C’s 12 June 23 00:07

“The terms of the new investment were subject to a number of conditions”. On reflection, if Origin were willing to inject new capital if certain conditions were agreed, what were these, who would not agree them, and why? The same people who were planning to move anyway to continue getting their share of the pie or were there good reasons for not doing so? Why would Origin potentially spend more money if they did not think they could turn it around in exchange for agreeing certain terms (again what were these). Surely they either knew they could not be agreed (possible but why bother) or they hoped for some compromise (also possible, but this would be out of character on all accounts). An explaination would be appreciated from someone in the know given the impact this situation has on 95% of staff who have no say or is there something to hide?

When will the SRA report? 12 June 23 07:22

It’s widely known that the SRA are now looking at the events of 2019 as what went on has been reported as a Fraud - including in the Lawyer magazine - and we all know that regulated people, like Solicitors, cannot commit fraud and expect no consequences. Hell, we can’t drink and drive or kiss a colleague without consequences (which is a good thing) so why should financial fraud be any different? The main thing is that the SRA get time to complete their work as this is likely to be very complex. Plexus Law account lay bear much of what went on and make clear that Plexus was loss making even when sold for squillions to enrich a lucky few who were, I am told, still in charge of the firm in 2019-20 when it was clearly struggling. So not all of Origin’s making, it seems (though they have not exactly helped!). So, when will the SRA report?

 

Sacked or resigned? 12 June 23 09:39

It would be interesting to know which Partners from Plexus resigned and which were sacked. Clearly there has been some poor behaviour going on and one suspects a few were exited rather than walked. Clarity, anyone?

Anonymous 12 June 23 12:27

"If you think you have it bad, please read the comments on the “In-house lawyers give diverse opinions on diversity” article on the home page. Full of awful sexist and racist comments from lawyers."

 Amen brother/sister.

What sorrow to see so many heathens who refuse to embrace the one true faith of our lord DEI.

They must repent at once or be damned as the sinners they are!

 

 

Obviously we're the goodies here and it's totally reasonable of us to decry as racist/sexist anyone who disagrees with any part of the methodology that we're imposing as a way of institutionalising the ideology that we believe in. That's precisely the kind of reasonable views that everyone on the Right Side Of History would have.

If you don't think so then you're a racist who deserves to be cancelled.

Anonymous 12 June 23 12:28

Whether they sacked or they resigned, they’ve taken their clients with them, which is why it’s ended up insolvent.  
Origin attacked the very assets it bought!  Smart move, not. 

Reply to “SRA report” post 12 June 23 12:48

The SRA are not interested in 2019 as there was no fraud and there were no financial irregularities. It was a commercial deal to get more finance into the firm when the business had true value. 

This was simply the same divisive and untrue story constantly peddled by Origin to cover up their gross mismanagement and destruction of a great firm. They have to try to blame others as a very poor attempt to deflect  their own appalling behaviours and decisions. 

Plexus was a well run profitable firm under McD and he stepped in to save 1000 plus jobs in 2015. The constant horrible comments about previous management are frankly disgusting.

Realise that there’s a lot of anger around but direct this at the 2 from Origin who ran the firm into the ground.

Shaun 12 June 23 12:52

@explain the T&Cs. I’m not in the know but looking at Digger Dave’s comments above, my take is that Origin don’t have any money themselves to invest. So they went cap in hand to another fellow investor (who does have money) with whom they have some kind of partnership to ask for more cash.  I assume it’s that other investor who imposed conditions (‘show us updated accounts’ maybe, ‘explain where our £15m has gone’) and it’s those that have not been met.  Rather than conditions Origin imposed on itself wearing its Plexus hat as the photo above suggests. 

Reply to Sacked or resigned 12 June 23 12:54

The majority of good partners were sacked or resigned (many still working notice)

Those who resigned could not stand to work in the divisive toxic atmosphere created by management.

Those who were sacked was a result of challenging management and not agreeing with what they were doing to the business and not because of any poor behaviour. Some loyal  collegiate partners with great clients were sacked as they spoke up against the Origin 2.

Clueless “When will the SRA report” 12 June 23 13:07

Hate how people just spout clueless nonsense on here with no knowledge.

If you’d take the time to research rather than just accepting lies you’re told then you’d see from Companies House that Plexus profits in 2019 were £9.1 million. That was after Origin spent millions restating those accounts solely for their own purposes. Another waste of firm cash.

The firm was not struggling in 2019 and had great clients - unfortunately that’s not the case now.

Blind leading the blind 12 June 23 13:09

To Aviation Boy’s trainee, he’s clueless at best. You should ask yourself why he is briefing you. Where’s your CEO?? She should be briefing everyone and reassuring you all is not lost. But she isn’t. Ask yourself why?! It’s a big, bright red flag. 

Price point problems. 12 June 23 14:22

Just to follow up, seeing as it's been touched on here several times:-

I reckon the problem, largely, goes all the way back to the first ambitious partner (whoever it was), their eyes set firmly on the top of the greasy pole, to say "yes" when an insurer suggested it would be reasonable to do an entire litigation for a fixed fee. Inexcusable short-sightedness,. It should have been obvious then that it would be a very slippery slope from there. Now, there are fixed fees agreed at well (well) south of a grand, in some cases for litigation with the potential to be worth up to £100k in damages alone. Whoever agreed to these proposals was psychotic, desperate, dim or (more likely) a little from columns A through C.

Add to that some insurers having refused to raise their (already abysmal) hourly rates for 20 years and you've got quite the powder keg.

Insurers have some outstanding lawyers at their disposal who like working for them and want to get them great results. At the end of the day, the chances of any court accepting live litigation conducted by AI chatbots is slim to none, so you will need us. We work just as hard and are just as skilled as anyone else, and deserve the accordant reasonable standard of living. It might be worth thinking about what having nobody to do this stuff for you would be like before it's too late...

Saw it coming years ago 12 June 23 19:33

Honestly, if creditors of Plexus had been reading RoF and checking the comments, they would have seen this coming a mile away:

https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/exclusive-plexus-law-accounts-hugely-overdue

https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/plexus-secures-emergency-funding-blaming-extremely-serious-multi-million-pound

https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/wheres-happy-and-wheres-miserable-rollonfriday-best-law-firms-work-2023-rankings

Just a personal prediction for anyone interested - Plexus will be followed into administration by Knights, DWF, Rosenblatt, Child & Child (yet again), Howard Kennedy and Mishcon but not necessarily in that order.

Reply to price point problem 12 June 23 20:39

Totally agree about the reasonable standard of living point. A few years back I evaluated and realised there was no point being a lawyer in insurance. It just wasn’t going to pay or be secure. The amount of work required for so little pay was untenable. I was an NQ at the time, it was a big decision but I left and was fully prepared to quit law completely. Best decision ever. I switched areas and am now in a London city firm. To those wanting to leave - your skills are marketable elsewhere. You aren’t stuck. 

Justice 4 All 12 June 23 21:32

Hopefully there will be a bailout as hundreds of jobs at risk.

It is not clear whose interests Pinsent Masons are representing and why they are attempting to bully and brow beat the remaining partners.

 

Price Point Problems. 13 June 23 16:07

I am interested to note that my observations at 14.22 yesterday have attracted nearly as many dislikes as likes. I am curious about what is objected to and would welcome an explanation of what people feel I might be missing. 

I'm not spoiling for a fight. It's not a trap. I'd just like to see things from a different point of view 

Parabis survivor 13 June 23 23:10

A lot of bashing HR team on here saying they should "go down with the ship".

Not sure what impression you have but these people have families to support and mortgages to pay too.. and are hardly on board level salaries with hundreds of thousands in reserve.. in what world is it fair to expect anyone not to prioritise themselves when they have comittments to fulfill? These people are crew, not captains.

I don't work at Plexus, but hung around too long on the Parabis downward spiral, along with a lot of hardworking, talented and lovely people. The time comes when you need to look out for number one, as it's highly unlikely that anyone at the top is fighting your corner.

DefendantLitigator 14 June 23 08:56

As someone who was doing this work around the turn of the century, I believe that the first firm to agree to fixed fees was DACB, or whatever they were called at that point.

I got the impression that they agreed it for Eagle Star/ Zurich work, and it spread from there.

That's my recollection anyway, though I was pretty green back then.

Stop picking on Pinsent Masons 14 June 23 10:23

They are doing a valuable job so stay out of it. If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem. 

BusinessSecretsofthePharaohs 14 June 23 12:07

The problem is not fixed fees per se as if it’s possible to predict the cost of anything it’s conducting 10,000 basically identical motor injury claims. The problem is the insurers have managed the law firms involved to depress the level of fixed fees to an untenable level. 

Anonymous 14 June 23 17:25

How is the SI / Cat loss offering looking in Manchester.  Answer; there isnt one as the partners have left.  Resigned or sacked.... 

Parabis survivor too 14 June 23 20:54

Sorry parabis survivor, but if you take a role as Head of HR you stay and actually it is not detrimental to your CV to follow the process through. Unfortunately HR are taking a bashing based on the history of some of the team members behaviour. Not exactly compassionate HR practised over the years in this firm unfortunately. 

Saddened-Ex-Plex 15 June 23 11:03

It's saddening to see the level of support team bashing here. Given the volume of comments acknowledging the diabolical lack of transparency from the very top, is it not a little naïve to jump to the assumption that the majority of the HR team were afforded much in the way of heads up or intel, and to then vilify them on the basis of that assumption? The anger and inclination to assign blame in the situation are understandable and human, but so are the people who are seemingly expected to thanklessly render themselves destitute in the valiant pursuit of being the "last ones standing", when they're most likely in the same boat as the majority. I empathise with all those at risk and I agree with you, Parabis Survivor; these people are crew, not captains.

Anon 15 June 23 14:13

It came across as not what you know, but who you know. The majority of the HR department posted the 'open for work' patter (collectively?) on LinkedIn, within a few hours of each other (coincidence?). This was when staff had only the previous day been fed the line that there was nothing to worry about and it was business as usual. It did not paint a pretty picture.

I agree with Parabis Survivor Too, when you take on a HR role, is that not what you sign up to do? Or, at the very least, if you consider yourself crew and not a captain, encourage those at the top to feed more information down the chain. You can't have it both ways. 

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