Camerons puts 20 partners on notice as close of restructure draws near

Readers' comments (22)

• Anonymous | 10-Feb-2011 2:22 pm

  Camerons has always been built with smoke and mirrors, with marketing instead of substance - Dunky being one of those without much substance. Is it not on his watch that profits have gone down?

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• Schadenfreude | 10-Feb-2011 3:02 pm

  I wonder how many of the Camerons partners who are to be kicked out, or (oh the shame!) de-equitised, were the same partners who voted for Duncan's great outsourcing project in the name of boosting their profits?
  I remember at the time the Integreon story broke one poster said something about: 'those of you who support this, watch your back, because you'll be next' - and they were spot on.
  Also, to those associates clapping because partners are being kicked out too, remember what this means - smaller, tighter equity with higher PEP = a much higher hurdle for your entry, i.e. no future for you here, mate.
  End result, everyone's a loser, aside from the equity partners who remain - although the axe will never be far from their necks from now on. Better get out the Prozac.
  Wonderful thing isn't it, a commercial law firm in 2011?

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• How about this? | 10-Feb-2011 3:55 pm

  Just had a silly notion. Nonsense really. Rather than restructuring, outsourcing, and redundancies, why doesn't the management team at Cameron McKenna actually focus on bringing in new client and more fee income from existing ones. Daft, I know, but it's just a thought. Sure, you might have to live on profit shares of £450k fo a year or two but times are hard for everyone. Just a thought. Ps can we have a new picture of Duncan please - I imagine he's aged a bit since the one you use?

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• Anonymous | 10-Feb-2011 3:57 pm

  It will be interesting to see their statutory accounts to April 2011 in due course. Presumably they'll need to bring in a full provision for the cost of redundancies as this has now been widely announced. So I can't see your profit shares going north any time soon, boys. Unless you 'do a Halliwells' of course and distribute any upfront payment from Integreon. But you wouldn't do that, would you?

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• Anonymous | 10-Feb-2011 3:58 pm

  Nice to know that Bristol is considered out there in the same uncivilised wilderness of cheap fees as our friends in Asia...

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• Daily Times | 10-Feb-2011 4:06 pm

  I love the weekly, nay daily reports, on these websites, about Cameron Mckenna. It was sold to me as 'the best kept secret in London. Maybe 3 or 4 years ago it was. But now, my foot. I feel sorry for the support staff but I do have to laugh at the hole the management team have dug for themselves. They've bet the ranch and only time will tell if it's successful.

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• Stephen Pipes | 10-Feb-2011 4:34 pm

  What Camerons needs to do is:
  1. Merge with all the other CMS firms to build a proper integrated firm and enable cost savings to be realised and greater scale to fund investment and expansion.
  2. Merge with Simmons & Simmons to build out the corporate and employment practice.
  3. Merge with Barlow Lyde & Gilbert to build out the insurance practice
  4. Merge with Clyde &Co to build out in litiigation
  5. Merge with K&L Gates to develop a meaningful presence in the U.S.
  Merge or die

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• Dayglo Dave | 10-Feb-2011 5:04 pm

  Presumably the good news for partners who are being squeezed out is that they can at least say to prospective new employers that they chose to leave on account of falling profitability, low morale, etc. That hasn't been the case with some of the other "restructurings" that we've been seeing over the past couple of years.

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• Pop will eat itself | 10-Feb-2011 6:34 pm

  Pay-what-you-think-it's-worth. Inspired.

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• Hugey | 10-Feb-2011 6:51 pm

  Guess I called the job cuts.

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