In a deal signed well ahead of the outbreak of the GFC, top-tier firm Blake Dawson decided to move its Melbourne offices from the opulent confines of 101 Collins Street in preference for several floors in the newly constructed CGU Building (shared also with Deloitte).
But if the comments from the anonymous Blakes spy below are an indication, Blakes partners vastly overestimated the space that they would require in their new office:
It’s amazing how eerily quiet the Blake Dawson Melbourne office is. We moved into the new William St office last year and then had a round of redundancies. There are soooo many spare offices and desks at the moment. It is open plan and this makes it more obvious.
One recently vacated desk is, of course, that of newly appointed BHP General Counsel David “Daisy” Williamson. Daisy’s departure ( in contrast to the 89 workers made redundant by the firm) caused “high anxiety” that Blake’s relationship with BHP would be threatened, perhaps signalling that the vacated seats wont be filled anytime soon.
However, it appears that the apparent miscalculation in tenancy requirements – and the associated cost blow-out – was offset by a little victory for partners. The same anonymous Blakes spy also sent us the following comments:
We apparently had so many spare computers after the redundancies that they were offered for sale to partners and staff too.
Imagine the irony if it were a Blakes partner who used a redundant employee’s old computer to hijack the firm’s Wikipedia page in order to update sordid details about namesake Blake Dawson’s professional porn career?!
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