Workplace Team – Employment Law, 2009:
David Davies – Partner
Roland Hassall – Partner
Tim McDonald – Partner
Joe Murphy – Special Counsel
Dilan Mahendra – Senior Associate
Jonathan Wright – Senior Associate
Carla Fitzgerald – Lawyer
Emma Model – LawyerWorkplace Team – Employment Law, Today:
David Davies – Partner
Roland Hassall – Consultant
Sarah Wood – Senior Associate
Felicity Edwards – Grad Lawyer
Whoops. That’s a 50% attrition, right there. Which begs the question, where did they all go? In-house, other firms and the bar, it seems, but we have a few other theories:
Where have they gone?
Tim McDonald – Moray & Agnew
Joe Murphy – Director at Australian Business Lawyers
Dilan Mahendra – Barrister at State Chambers
Jonathan Wright – Minter Ellison
Carla Fitzgerald – Australian Human Rights Commission
Emma Model – Senior Solicitor RTA
Is attrition this bad at your firm? Voice your theories in the comments.
Update: for what it’s worth, we received this comment from an ex-Sparkie:
I’m an ex-Brisbane Sparkie and know the workplace group and its players there very well. From all accounts it is going gangbusters. Matthew Smith is a highly respected lawyer in the Brisbane market. He runs a practice of about a dozen people as I understand it, making it one of the larger groups of its kind in Queensland. What’s more it seems to have an enviable client list, which Smith has virtually built from scratch.
I also heard that the Special Counsel who left Newcastle, has transferred to the Queensland group. Not quite the move of someone leaving a sinking ship.
Loading...
The property group and B&C teams from HWL Ebsworth are about the same… The B&C team from Sydney have lost about 8 lawyers in 9 months… More are about to leave.
No, “to beg the question” means one has tried to prove a point by assuming it is correct. Sorry, can’t help myself. Drives me mad.
I hear that this is just the tip of the iceberg at Shark & Billmore- they lost a whole team of partners / special counsels and lawyers in a matter of months in the employment group here in melbourne last year they all went to different places- not an package and that is not the first time this has happened in the last couple of years.
I have acted for some x sparke helmore people advising on being “managed out”. Ruthless! 10 , 15 – 20 years service and sacrifice. Have a bad week and your gonsky.
I here the next clean out has already started in their Newcastle office. Have given up 2 floors of the palace on the water to cut costs and staff. Bit of internal blame game as well with some Newcastle partners resorting to biffo to settle a difference of who gets to bill a client and put in their budget
Same sort of thing is happening at Mallesons, especially in the P&E team. Things are a bit out of hand there now. A few people think there could be some catching up happening at the mo. Take a look at the staff changes there over the last few months. Word on the street is they’re struggling to get people to work in that team now!
At the beginning of this year approximately half of Sparke Helmore’s Perth office staff resigned.
Hey Brian I have acted for a couple of x sparkes on issues in relation inapproriate workplace conduct ( by their superiors) and bullying by managers. They make a complaint and then get the heave ho. Good culture.
Great source of work though. Keep it coming uncle sparkie.
What are sparkies doing- they were once an iconic Newcastle firm. Seems they are taking hits across the whole nation. Me thinks some leadership issues and a lack of people skills. Can’t blame the employment teams for walking out. They would be the first ones to see the signs.Question is can you stop the ship from sinking or the firm from stinking! Think some partners are going to get wet and what is that smell – pheeww!
The firm is being run from the mailroom but it has a marble stair case.
“Shark & Billmore” – love it benny bing.I can see the photocopy boy changing the letter head now. “Ooops who do I have to ask to do that? How do you spell “bill (more)”?. I am pi$$ing myself benny. Quick where are the stairs!
My friend once said that if you sit by the river long enough, you will see the bodies of your enemies float down the river… I am sitting on the bank and watching the body of SH float by. Shame on them the way they treat their employees.
thing is Brian, they have lost or pushed out some serious talent while the untalented mailroom types persist with their greed and arrogance. The supposed valuing of people in the profile seriously needs to be dropped. Climbing of the BS just got too hard.