Law articled clerks laid off (1 Viewer)

[RogueAcademic]

For everyone's interest, there's an article in today's (Friday 6 Feb 09) Australian Financial Review:

Law clerks laid off as firms feel pinch

Friday, 06 February 2009 | The Australian Financial Review | James Eyers

On Monday night, nine of Deacons' 18 articled clerks in Melbourne received an email asking them to attend a meeting with their supervising partner and a human resources manager the next morning...
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There's more to the article of course, the link to the whole article is here but to read the whole article in the online version you need to be a subscriber.

 

[RogueAcademic]

I have been told by partners of firms, albeit small firms but successful and well regarded ones in family law related fields, that things are tight at the moment as workload has really fallen.

I thought I read in the paper last week that family law was an area that was still going strong as it doesn't really have much to do with the economic downturn?

 

[Lara1986]

I thought I read in the paper last week that family law was an area that was still going strong as it doesn't really have much to do with the economic downturn?

Suppose it depends on who you talk to.

The impression I got came from a firm I had an interview with - they were tossing up whether they needed another clerk or not due to downturn in work.

That said, they specialise in high end property cases and international abduction/hague cases so they probably have more of the big money clients.

Your average 'every day person' cases are still going strong I would think, as they are at the place I am currently working at, but anecdotally I have heard that there is a downturn in the more costly cases in so far as commencing a new case as opposed to continuing an existing one.

 

[Lara1986]

Seems that public sector has been hit harder than private sector though. I have heard that Legal Aid isn't replacing a lot of people and that A-G's graduate recruitment is postponed/cancelled for 2009.

 

[RogueAcademic]

Seems that public sector has been hit harder than private sector though. I have heard that Legal Aid isn't replacing a lot of people and that A-G's graduate recruitment is postponed/cancelled for 2009.

Well, I guess at the very least they're not laying off current staff. They're just hiring more. That must be a relief for the people currently there.

 

[Lara1986]

A relief for those who have permanent positions, but maybe not so for those who are temporary or contract

I worked at Legal Aid head office one year over summer break and the woman who was my supervisor said she'd been there for years but still was only 'temporary', it was just that her contract got renewed every year so i don't know how secure I'd be feeling if i was in a temp contract role.

But yes, it's true that it's better than mass lay offs.

 

[hiphoppresident]

damn...how the hell am i gonna get and articled clerkship lol

 

[Marmalade.]

That really sucks for those people. But shouldn't Deacons have reduced their intake rather than stuffing these people around? I know they can't predict the future but 9 out of 18 is a lot.

 

[rubin]

For everyone's interest, there's an article in today's (Friday 6 Feb 09) Australian Financial Review:

Law clerks laid off as firms feel pinch

Friday, 06 February 2009 | The Australian Financial Review | James Eyers

On Monday night, nine of Deacons' 18 articled clerks in Melbourne received an email asking them to attend a meeting with their supervising partner and a human resources manager the next morning...
​

There's more to the article of course, the link to the whole article is here but to read the whole article in the online version you need to be a subscriber.

I heard that in Sydney they told all of the incoming grads for this year to f-off. Also, i found out from speaking to one of their clerks this year, their clerkship program was rubbish. The firm didn't spend one cent on them on the social side eg. drink nights, lunches, christmas parties etc. And they had to pay for their own registration for the inter-firm basketball comp (this is unheard of for all other large firms). They were just worked like dogs.

I hope they get punished in the coming years by savvy law students/grads that avoid them at all costs and help them realise that a reputation is something that is easily tarnished but not easily rebuilt. It stinks.

 

[RogueAcademic]

The firm didn't spend one cent on them on the social side eg. drink nights, lunches, christmas parties etc.

This would be the last thing I'd care about though. Very low or non-existent on any of my priority lists.

They were just worked like dogs.

Welcome to the real world. To generalise broadly, this is allegedly what top/mid tier firms do to their articled clerks anyway. Every year, articled clerks complain about being worked like dogs. It might be that for most law grads, it's the first real corporate job in the workforce they've ever had, so it's pretty much a shell-shock for them to leave the 'student' lifestyle/mentality behind.

 

[hfis]

Newsflash: top tier firms don't pay you a shitload of cash to sit on your arse and browse facebook all day. It amazes me that people are still shocked when they find out that 'hard/shit work = good pay' holds true for law, just like it does for every other profession.

 

[jtyler]

Heh, just noticed your signature. Glad I'm not the only one that noticed how fucking ridiculous that definition in the Wrongs Act is.

 

[Xytech]

Heh, just noticed your signature. Glad I'm not the only one that noticed how fucking ridiculous that definition in the Wrongs Act is.

yes, that one got me too
our lecturer did this weird picture to try and explain it, haha

 

[incentivation]

Seems that public sector has been hit harder than private sector though. I have heard that Legal Aid isn't replacing a lot of people and that A-G's graduate recruitment is postponed/cancelled for 2009.

Which is absurd when one considers the the ridiculous salaries and packages of some very useless public servants.

 

[Lara1986]

Which is absurd when one considers the the ridiculous salaries and packages of some very useless public servants.

Haha i reckon!

Although, it was somewhat satisfying that when i worked at Legal Aid one year over summer break, I discovered was earning the same as some people who were in superior positions who had been working their for years, whereas I had been there for 1 month in a grade 1 support staff position