Let us start by retracting any inference which we may have made in relation to Freehills consultant, and WA Law Society president, Dudley Stow.
We commented last week on the irony that Dudley, an employee of the firm we regard as being a protagonist in the collapse of the WA Law Society Graduate Recruitment Scheme, would comment on the ‘regrettable’ breakdown of the scheme in his capacity as WA Law Society president.
If the following email is true, it seems we now have a different Freehills target to whom we can apportion blame. We received the following from an anonymous source earlier in the week:
Here’s the email that Freehills sent to Vac Clerks in Perth:
Dear vacation clerks,
As a result of increasing student unrest and daily phone calls from many of you in response to early offers made by other law firms who have opted out of the scheme, we feel it is in your best interests for Freehills to also break away from the scheme and make early offers. We had wanted to comply and see the process through but with the many firms who have now made offers early, we feel it is not fair for you to be placed in this position when the scheme was initially designed to protect your interests. This morning, we made some early offers by phone. These offers will be kept open for the next week, and if you haven’t already heard from us, you may still be on the list with a potential call to follow. We will continue to review all applications, both from previous vacation clerks and other candidates, once applications officially close this evening. We will also interview any candidates we have not yet seen who we think might warrant further consideration. In the interests of fairness to you all, we think this is the only course of action available to us. There is no doubt that much discussion will need to take place in the aftermath of this year’s recruitment process. For now, we urge you to have faith in the firms you are considering for articles and ensure you know where you stand at all times to give yourself the best possible chance of securing employment, preferably with your #1 firm of choice. I wish you all the very best in an extremely challenging market.
Kind regards
Charissa Maxwell
Graduate Recruitment Consultant Freehills
[other details withheld]
Supposing one accepts the claim that other firms are in fact rorting the scheme, is it fathomable that Freehills have made these early offers out of concern that the graduates are being treated fairly? That is, Freehills would have graduates believe that its departure from the scheme is borne of a concern that they are being treated unfairly; not to thwart the vexing prospect that Minters or Allens might pinch a graduate from under their noses.
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