Cobbetts introduces four-day week

LAW firm Cobbetts has cut salaries by 20% and introduced a four-day week across a large part of its practice.

The Manchester firm, which has offices in Leeds, Birmingham and London, said the move was a “temporary” arrangement but “vital” to help protect jobs and allow the firm to emerge from the recession as “a strong and competitive business”.

Fee earners and support staff in every area except dispute resolution and private capital practice areas, will be affected.

Cobbetts has been hit by the slump in the corporate and commercial property markets.

In June it reported a 16% drop in fee income to £48.5m for the year to the end of  March. A year ago it laid-off 40 fee earners.

In a statement the firm said: “Cobbetts LLP has taken the decision to look to extend current part-time working and other flexible arrangements to support services and other transactional-based areas of the firm, effective from the beginning of September 2009.

“This measure is temporary in nature and will be reviewed on a regular basis.

“Both fee earners and support staff will be affected, with the exception of those in the dispute resolution and private capital practice areas, who will remain on a full-time working week.

Managing partner Michael Shaw, stated: “Having reassessed the projected market activity after the summer, we take the view that transactional activity levels are likely to remain relatively low in the short term, although there are signs that may suggest a medium-term lift.

“Introducing these measures will allow us to ensure that our ongoing expenditure is balanced against revenue until transaction levels start to increase, whilst retaining the very talented people we have within the business.

“This action is in line with that taken by many of our regional and national competitors.

“We are determined to emerge from the current global downturn as a strong and competitive business, and these types of decisions are a difficult but vital element in that process.”