Allens Arthur or Martha? Confusion Reigns over Voluntariness of AAR Redundancies

Jul

Allens Arthur or Martha? Confusion Reigns over Voluntariness of AAR Redundancies

Posted by The Spy | Posted in Allens Arthur Robinson, Firm Gossip | Posted on 11.00am

Martha prepares to tap a colleague on the shoulder

We received two emails last week from Allens spies who insisted that some of the 114 people populating The List (voluntary redundancies) emailed by Michael Rose around the firm on Thursday were in fact given a bit of a nudge. Allens partner Chris Fogarty, the same guy who inadvertently revealed the bizarre nature of Allens’ graduate advertising, offered the following response to our report:

No one was tapped on the shoulder and asked to go, Mr Fogarty said, and the program, launched in April, was “100 per cent voluntary”. “I think it’s pretty insulting to the people who have taken redundancy,” Mr Fogarty said of suggestions — published anonymously on a website — that some staff had been pushed to leave the firm.

On the same day of the above report, we received the following comments from an AAR spy:

those rumours are totally correct..at performance review a number of people have been told they are “better off” applying for voluntary redundancy. I have also heard that the firm has put law grads on a one year “contract” as well as given most people a worse performance review this year (thus no bonus)

Who do you believe? Three anonymous AAR spies, or a member of a partnership which has instigated a pay freeze, cancelled the Christmas party and, as reported in AFR (3/7), enjoyed … ahem … DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH in profits? Send the Firm Spy your news and views!

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(2) Comments

Insider said on :7/Jul/2009 at 10:07

Was it 114 or 112 redundancies? The firm has a project running called ‘project overflow’ which involves the thinning out of the ranks, outsourcing roles that are not need and accessing external pools. This spie hears that the partners are only concerned with who will get their lunch and coffee now!
anon said on :21/Jul/2009 at 11:07

from an outsiders point of view, Allens appear just to be using the GFC to thin out the ranks of senior associates and more junior lawyers so that they can create a Linklaters style “new world order”…this is all about profit, nothing else. If Allens is indeed making profit (as reported in your story) then why cut the workforce so deep with so many redundancies?? Firms like Allens should feel disgusted with themselves.