Thanks to the anonymous Clayton Utz spy who sent us the following audacious comments on the weekend.
Dear Firm Spy, I am a long-time reader but a first-time Spy. You recently reported that in March this year, as part of the “Clayton Utz firm-wide salary freeze”, rotating graduates who had been promised salary increases of at least 5k at the end of each of their three rotations were ‘dodged’ when it came time to make-good on those promises. Well despite Clutz making $491 million last financial year, on 16 October the firm delivered its third blow below the belt to Clutz grads – we were dodged in March, we did not even receive CPI at the end of June and now we have been dodged yet again!
On 16 October we were ordered by HR to assemble and form ranks ready to be addressed by acting partner-in-charge, Brendan Bateman… Pleasantries were left aside as Mr Bateman began by reminding us that “we are in a global financial crisis and there is a current excess of graduates in the market”. After that statement there was a short pause as every grad in the room lifted their jaw from the floor. Mr Bateman then proceeded to reassure us that “it’s not all bad news, you still have jobs, and last financial year 25% of fee-earners received a discretionary payment to recognise hard work”. That may be so, but an astute Clutz grad was quick to point out to Mr Bateman that rotating graduates are actually not eligible for discretionary payments no matter how hard they work!
To add insult to injury, after Bateman’s speech, we each returned to our offices with our heads held low, only to find a letter waiting for us confirming the freeze on our remuneration package. Strangely, the total at the bottom of our “Remuneration and Benefit Statement” had in fact increased by $940 – it seems that Clutz had the audacity to add the ‘retail value’ of the policies that the firm holds for “Group Life/Total and Permanent Disablement Cover” and “Group Salary Continuance” to ‘bump up’ our total remuneration on paper. Furthermore, the letter which accompanied the “Remuneration and Benefit Statement” states that the decision to freeze grad salaries “is consistent with … our decision to not increase charge out rates to clients”. Fair enough, but within a week of our most recent pay dodge, all the third round rotatees were upgraded from first year solicitors to second year solicitors – and our charge out rates were increased from $300 to $380 an hour accordingly!
On the surface Clayton Utz attempts to appear supportive of their staff, particularly in respect of mental health awareness and assisting their staff to cope with depression in the legal profession. Every other week there is a firm-wide email or a leaflet dropped in our pigeon holes reminding us about CU Assist, a confidential counseling service offered to staff and their families. A lot of these measures were introduced after a Clutz summer clerk committed suicide during our 2007 clerkship. Although I would never suggest that salary increases are in any way a measure that can be employed to counter the effects of work-place depression, I have no doubt that job security, work-life balance and recognition of hard work are certainly important factors in this respect.
It is deplorable that the reasons for being frozen on our probationary salary for 15+ months and the fact that we have no security regarding a permanent position when we finish our rotations, are that (1) people with our qualifications are in excess supply, (2) the firm has set-aside money for discretionary payments that we are not eligible for and (3) all these measures are so the firm can avoid mass-redundancies and instead treat their most junior staff so poorly that they will leave on their own accord without ruining the firm’s reputation. It is clear that the only thing that the equity partners care about is equity profits.
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I am reluctant to post a “back in my day, we had it worse” style comment, but you kids need to wake up to yourselves. You have survived the GFC. You still have jobs. You are very well paid. (Back in 2004, an articled clerk friend of mine at a mid-sized firm was being paid the law society recommended rate of pay, namely, $25,000 per annum. That’s only 5 year ago.) Your firm did not have a Mallesons style cull, nor were hordes of your friends and peers dragged through fake performance management processes to force them to quit.
I’m ashamed of you lot.
You want it all now. You’ve never had to wait for anything in your lives and you can’t handle disappointment. Your houses aren’t used as security against the firm’s overdraft. You have no idea what the partners have struggled through to make partner. You have no idea what kind of financial pressure they live with every day. It’s not your business. You don’t own it. Your neck isn’t on the chopping block.
Let’s get one thing clear. I’m not a partner. I’m a solicitor, I’m under 30 and I work at a top tier law firm and I think you should all get a life.
If you have a problem with how the partners are managing things, go and start your own firm. Use your family home as security to start your own firm. Put your name and your assets on the line every time you give advice. Don’t hide behind the partnership and their insurance policy. Wake up to yourselves. It’s not your business. If you don’t like it, you can leave. That’s the deal. You offer your work in exchange for your pay. If that deal isn’t working for you, go and get a job somewhere else. Oh, that’s right, we’re in the middle (or the end) of a GFC and you can’t find another job because there aren’t any and you’re a bit useless anyway until the firm has invested considerable resources training you? Well, you’ll just have to stick it out then. The power balance will shift in your favour at some point. It’s swings and roundabouts. So when it shifts, you’ll be milking it for all it’s worth. Until then, pipe down and learn something.
Get back to work.
Sounds like you’ll make an excellent top tier firm partner one day, Cranky Under 30 Solicitor! Then you’ll be in a position to personally dish out some come-uppance to cheeky young grads. Hope that will cheer you up.
But you better take your own advice and get back to work instead of wasting time posting angry diatribes on the internet… unfortunately, you can’t bill for that…
Sorry, pal, that silver spoon is wedged so firmly up your arse it’s tough to hear your elitist, bellend point of view.
What house are young lawyers putting up to start their own firms? The ones that are now priced at their highest multiple comparitive to average earnings EVER?! The ones held by the Baby Boomers / partners to whom you are so endeared? Oh, you mean those houses that we can afford? You know, the houses 35 kms away with a sh*t yield. We live in them to get government grants and need to commute for 90 minutes a day, on top of the ridiculous hours ‘requested’ by your darling lads of equity (and, I’m sure, the odd token woman).
Weird, somehow I don’t see CBA throwing $$$ at us for the certificate to that house in Bumfu*k, Nowhere so that I can crank up Young Hardwork & Neckonblock…
…but I digress.
Your entire comment is a straw man and, to be honest, rather useless.
You see, young Talbot, we were not that badly affected in Australia during the GFC: unemployment never topped 6%, shares took a beating but rebounded quickly, property levelled briefly (we young ‘uns really should’ve jumped on, right?) before taking off on a semi-ballistic trajectory.
And law firms? Well, they made more money than ever. How? Culture of fear, reduction in staff overheads, overworking lawyers.
And your argument? Partners work hard and are under unimaginable pressure…
Wow.
Just like submarines.
And now, thanks to you, they’re both full of seamen.
Keep up the top work.
Goodness me, “Sleepy afternoon” – aren’t we grumpy?
Listen, I may sound patronising (and I assure you I am), but I’m going to give you a little hint. Do some research into the “Greedy Associates” movement that was gaining a lot of traction in the US between 2000 and about 2006. It isn’t what it sounds like, so please, take 10 minutes out of your (obviously very busy and overworked) day and google it.
If you really have a problem with what’s going on, you will follow their lead and do something about it… Or you could just keep complaining.
PS. I’m quite certain that I’ve done more for junior solicitors’ rates of pay and working conditions than you have, so please cut out the offensive nonsense. I’m trying to help you out.
Thank you all for the excellent read.
So CU are mean and nasty. Well bugger me, run that up the flagpole.