BLP ups performance element in partner remuneration
Berwin Leighton Paisner’s (BLP) equity partners will have to work harder for their pay following the firm’s decision to put more emphasis on performance when distributing profits.
Neville Eisenberg
The firm reviewed its bonus pool structure in the second half of 2010 and as a result the amount of partners’ pay that is dependent on performance has risen from 20 per cent to 25 per cent. The remaining 75 per cent is paid according to lockstep.
BLP has also tweaked the criteria that the firm’s elected remuneration committee looks at when assessing partners’ performance, putting more weight on soft factors like business development and general contribution to the firm.
The changes will take effect for the current financial year.
“We reviewed the structure last year,” said BLP managing partner Neville Eisenberg. “There’s always been criteria to look at business development and the more intangible side of things, but now we’ve added a bit more emphasis to that and introduced a bit more subjectivity to the review of partner performance.
“The objective is to arrive at a more accurate way of assessing partners’ contribution to the firm.”
Nabarro has made a similar change, announcing that it will put more focus on business development and client relationship management when distributing profits to partners (28 July 2011).
BLP has 191 partners, 88 of whom are in the equity, meaning 46 per cent of the partnership has equity status.
