Linklaters' partner drawings delayed

Linklaters partners are facing delays in receiving profit distributions for September following the installation of the firm's new multimillion-pound IT system.
Partners had been expecting to receive a profits pay-out, which occurs every two months at the firm, on 10 September. However, the funds, estimated to average around £75,000 per partner, will now reach lawyer's pockets at the end of this month.
The delay follows the implementation of the firm's Sap IT system, which was installed in May.
Urgent bills could be raised manually during its initial stages, but there was a couple of weeks of backlog when client invoices began being sent out in earnest on 26 May. The system did not return to normal billing levels until the end of June.
Meanwhile, another two partners are leaving the firm, bringing the total departures to 23 since the last financial year. Peter Cornell, a former head of litigation in Hong Kong who now practices from London, is leaving at the end of October. It is understood that Cornell is taking a break from practising law.
Lee Porter, a capital markets partner who has spent time in New York and Madrid, left Linklaters in June and is believed to be contemplating a move to a US firm.