It is very clear to us that the Firm Spy Remuneration Report has thus far been a ratings bonanza. Our internet traffic has taken off on (what our favourite special comments person would term) a “semi-ballistic trajectory”. And so, today we move onto Blake Dawson.
By way of background, Blake Dawson has undergone a GFC period as tumultuous as any of the Big 6, though its partners still pocketed up to a reported $1,200,000. Distringuishable from other firms, however, Blakes has repeatedly deployed its PR machine with an almost comical modus operandi – break bad news to staff and then try to score points in the media with half-truths and distortion.
An excellent example is the Blake Dawson pay-rise-pay-freeze. At the time, the firm denied that it was introducing a blanket pay freeze, instead telling media it would still:
‘recognise exceptional performances but in a more focused way than in previous years.’
What is this “focus” rubbish? The firm later clarified, after the Firm Spy suggested that its pay position was less about “remuneration focus” and more about “remuneration f*ck-us”, that 30% of staff had received pay rises. We subsequently revealed, thanks to the excellent work of a Blakes firm spy, that the figure reported by the firm of 30% included raises given to newly admitted lawyers and elevations to SA. All of a sudden, 30% became 18%! Let’s hope that half of the 18% given pay rises weren’t support staff, otherwise less than one in ten lawyers would have received a pay rise. F*ck us? Err… maybe it is time for a “f*ck-you” strike! It wouldn’t be the first time that a revolt has been mooted. Little wonder why Blakes lawyer turn to chicanery like hijacking.
…And onto the figures reported by our anonymous Blake Dawson spies.
Firm Spy cannot guarantee the veracity of the figures quoted. They come from anonymous sources.
Sydney
Summer Clerk
Not admitted. Daily billable hours target – 5 hours. Salary – $900 per week. Comments:
Summer clerk for the upcoming break. Salary $900 incl super. Free gym membership for the 12 week period.
1-2 Years PQE
Admitted between July 2007 and June 2008. Daily billable hours target – 6.5 hours. Gross package 2008/2009 – $86,000. Gross package 2009/2010 – $86,000. Perks – free gym, subsidised further education.
2-3 Years PQE
Admitted between July 2006 and June 2007. Daily billable hours target – 6.5 hours. Gross package 2008/2009 – $88,000. Gross package 2009/2010 – $88,000. Perks – free gym, purchase additional leave, subsidised further education.
3-4 Years PQE
Admitted between July 2005 and June 2006. Daily billable hours target – 6.5 hours. Gross package 2008/2009 – $110,000. Gross package 2009/2010 – $110,000. Perks – free gym.
6-7 Years PQE
Admitted between July 2002 and June 2003. Daily billable hours target – 6.5 hours. Gross package 2008/2009 – $128,000. Gross package 2009/2010 – $128,000. Perks – blackberry, free gym, subsidised further education.
7-8 Years PQE
Admitted between July 2001 an June 2002. Daily billable hours target – 6.5 hours. Gross package 2008/2009 – $185,000. Gross package 2009/2010 – $200,000. Perks – blackberry, free gym, subsidised further education.
Melbourne
0-1 Years PQE
Admitted between July 2008 and June 2009. Daily billable hours target – 6.5 hours. Gross package 2008/2009 – $67,000. Gross package 2009/2010 – $70,000. Perks – purchase additional leave. Comments:
Morale is terrible. Many people I know will leave when hiring picks up again – so the firm is going to have a shortage of lawyers when many take off for greener pastures. Very small pay rise for those who were newly admitted (credit where it is due – any pay rise is better than none) from $67k to $70k. That is where the stats used to come from – ie they gave x% of employees pay rises. The truth is, there were no pay rises for lawyers with 1, 2 and 3 years PQE. Revenue was only 1-2% down from the previous financial year [ED - it was actually lower by a mere 0.5%], staff have been shed, discretionary costs are down, lawyers are working long hours and harder than ever. By the sound of it, partners aren’t feeling any impact from the GFC. A couple of people I know did get a “bonus” in the form of a $200 gift voucher from Myer. WOW!!!
4-5 Years PQE
Admitted between July 2004 and June 2005. Daily billable hours target – 6.5hours. Gross package 2008/2009 – $90,000. Gross package 2009/2010 – $92,500. Perks – blackberry.
5-6 Years PQE
Admitted between July 2003 and June 2004. Daily billable hours target – 7 hours. Gross package 2008/2009 – $92,000. Gross package 2009/2010 – $94,000. Perks – blackberry, free fruit. Comments:
The unfriendly work environment, uncollegiate atmosphere, uninteresting work, lack of support/mentoring, no emphasis on development, not enough client contact, under-resourced, not enough emphasis on expertise building, hopeless HR team [sic]*
Canberra
Graduate
Not admitted. Daily billable hours target – 6 hours. Gross package 2008/2009 – $68,000. Gross package 2009/2010 – $68,000. Perks – free gym, subsidised further education.
[ED - another ACT grad gave us the following entry]
Graduate
Not admitted. Daily billable hours target – 5.5 hours. Gross package 2008/2009 – $61,000. Gross package 2009/2010 – $61,000. Perks – free gym.
Brisbane
Graduate
Not admitted. Daily billable hours target – 6.5 hours. Gross package 2008/2009 – $65,000. Gross package 2009/2010 – $75,000. Perks – free gym, subsidised further education.
*yes, the comments just cut off at this point.
Send the Firm Spy your news and views!
Loading...
“Err… maybe it is time for a “f*ck-you” strike!”
Firmspy, you’ve done it again. Pure gold.
Did the big firms partners not remember the basic rule that everything has an equal and opposite effect? Just wait till all the disenfranchised junior staff that you’ve sidelined start coming into their own down the track. People have a loooong memory. “Oh we’re sorry, we regret to inform you on this occasion you were not the successful tenderer. Maybe next time. Payback time, mofos!”
It’s hilarious to think how much marketing money by the big law firms over the past decade has just gone up in smoke in the last 6 months. Goodwill is a precious thing…hard to obtain and far more easy to lose in today’s Internet Age. Business clients and future Articled Clerks take note. Unfortunately, you didn’t just lose your firm goodwill, you’ve ran it over with a Mack truck and blew it up with TNT for good measure. Look at your firm profile on 2009 Firmspy archives to remind yourself what went wrong.
Forget about spending any money on marketing, you just need to start treating people like human beings again. Even if that happened, it’s almost too late. You weren’t tracking too badly for the most part of the last couple of decades, but you lost the war for your lawyers’ hearts and minds in the 2009 aftermath of the GFC. Somewhere between a salary pay-freeze and an asshole with a million dollar cheque in hand.
C, you have said everything that I have been thinking for the past year. Law firms and their management seem to think they can control their image through marketing material. They do not understand the power of word of mouth and networks. I have lost track of the number of people that I have told about how badly I was treated – friends (including CEO’s), clients, other solicitors, potential summer clerks, recruits… All of them have been sympathetic and in the process told me of their bad experiences with the same law firm. Of course, some of those people will tell their networks….
The partners of law firms have become so obsessed with profit and so disconnected from reality, their employees and their clients (because after all, clients are the responsibility of the marketing dept and business development managers now aren’t they?) that they fail to see the obvious. Long term profit is derived from the quality of the employees and how willing they are to go the extra mile to keep clients happy. If your employees are happy, then it is likely that your clients will be happy too and give you repeat business. Poor quality work due to lack of morale or inexperience and overcharging might provide a short term boost in profit but you can bet that it will be outweighed by the risks including loss of the client and reputation in the long term.
Some law firms obviously think that their lawyers are deaf, dumb and stupid. They plead the GFC as an excuse for cost cutting forgetting that we can all read the Financial Review or The Australian and find out how much profit the firm is making, how much revenue has increased and how much partners are taking home. And guess what, we talk about it!
The partners and management of law firms have become so arrogant that they do not understand that disenchanted lawyers are most likely to go and work for the other side i.e their clients. Never bite the hand that might one day feed you.
Summer Clerk / Billable target