Eversheds to outsource UK-wide secretarial jobs
Eversheds will shed up to 95 secretarial staff as the firm prepares to outsource its documentation processes with outsourcing company Exigent.
Lee Ranson
The firm is in the process of rolling out documentation to an offshore site after completing a pilot with Exigent in its Cambridge office.
Earlier this year The Lawyer reported that the firm piloted the outsourcing scheme in its Cambridge office, with 10 secretaries being put on gardening leave between May and July (25 May 2009). It is understood that the 10 employees are still on gardening leave.
Since the end of the pilot Eversheds has looked at ways of rolling out the outsourcing scheme across its offices. The firm has decided that it requires one secretary for every four fee-earners with the rest of its needs being met by Exigent. Currently there is one secretary for every 3.4 fee-earners.
Eversheds managing partner Lee Ranson said: “The pilot was designed for us to evaluate how outsourcing works on the ground. We then went back to the business to discuss exactly how it would work across the firm. It will affect offices differently.”
The firm is announcing the initiative to its staff today and will begin rolling it out across its UK offices between now and Christmas.
Ranson said: “This is something that was taken up in other professions a long time ago. The legal profession is just starting to look at this now.”
Earlier today TheLawyer.com reported that 22 associates from Eversheds’ real estate team are in redundancy consultation (10 September 2009).
View results 10 per page | 20 per page | 50 per page
Readers' comments (25)
Anonymous | 17-Sep-2009 5:51 pm
Given that Eversheds advises on outsourcing you'd rather hope that it knew how it "works on the ground" (whatever that means) before embarking on this process.
Outsourcing management decisions would be a step in the right direction.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 22-Sep-2009 7:53 pm
sheds should come clean and let people know about the likely closure of smaller offices such as nottingham. its not fair on people but do they care
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 25-Sep-2009 2:51 pm
I read this article with interest. I have experience of working for firms where they have outsourced their document production. Unfortunately, they found to their cost that it wasn't cost effective, there were problems with spelling, layout and terminology. Within a year or two the secretaries who were left had their workload doubled!!!
Also, if so many firms are going in this direction, why are there so many advertisements for legal secretaries in the City and West End with so called "Legal Agencies"? Do these vacancies actually exist - I think not! I'm a legal secretary with over 20 years experience, currently stuck in a boring, dead-end job and unable to find a position where my skills and experience are better utilised. Something has definitely gone wrong somewhere. Perhaps The Lawyer's journalists could look into these Agencies and their vacancies!!
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 11-Nov-2009 8:51 am
Our firm is probably going to outsource our typing, which will mean the majority of secretaries will be made redundant. At the moment this is so called secret, of course all the fee earners know! Is there nothing in employment law to give the secretaries a claim, ie that their jobs have been given to someone else, so the job still exists?
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 21-Nov-2009 8:13 am
Pennywise Poundfulish! No commited secretary is taking this seriously. Diverting the typingjob is o.k. A secretary is not a typist but a manager of the lawyer.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment