While law firms turn to cost-cutting measures to manage shrinking revenues and uncertain cash flow during the coronavirus pandemic, including reducing staff pay and hours, partners may be last in line for a share of what’s left, a legal industry expert tells Lawyerly.
Bracing for a slowdown in work as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and calling on its staff to “face this situation together”, Norton Rose Fulbright is reducing pay and hours by up to 20 per cent for the majority of its 1000 lawyers and support staff in Australia.
The coronavirus has forged changes in the legal profession that will outlast the pandemic itself, leading to greater flexibility and efficiencies in an industry steeped in tradition and notably slow to adopt new technologies, sources told Lawyerly.
The Australian Institute of Company Directors is calling on the Federal Government to bar lawsuits over coronavirus-related disclosures, including class actions, but some lawyers warned the proposal would leave companies free to mislead and deceive shareholders.
Real estate agents advising tenants who may be unable to pay their rent to draw down their superannuation have raised the ire of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which warned they could be violating the Corporations Act.
Police have launched a criminal investigation of the circumstances surrounding last month’s docking in Sydney of the Ruby Princess cruise ship, which is now linked to 11 deaths from COVID-19.
As law firms and funders scramble to keep up with COVID-19’s impact on the legal landscape, some have gone above and beyond in creating new technological and service solutions for clients in these unprecedented times.
With the legal industry looking for ways to “share the pain” among staff amid a potential slowdown in work due to the coronavirus, several top-tier firms told Lawyerly they had no immediate plans to slash salaries or reduce staff hours.
With a large number of lawyers now working from home amid the coronavirus crisis, law firms are getting creative, turning to virtual yoga, cocktail deliveries and more to maintain the health and well-being of their staff.
Equity partners at MinterEllison have agreed to cut their draws by 50 per cent and permanent staff have been asked to purchase six weeks’ leave as part of measures to weather the COVID-19 crisis.