Pannone to make key decisions in chatroom

Pannone has launched a virtual chatroom, enabling the firm's equity partners to make important decisions, including partner recruitments, from their desks.

Last month the firm introduced the 'equity partner discussion area', a secure virtual chatroom accessible only by the firm's equity partners. Here, they can make certain decisions from their computers without having to attend meetings in person.

Director of support services Rachel Dobson explained: "When we converted to LLP status earlier this year, we reviewed our decision-making process. Equity partners tended to make a lot of decisions via email so we wanted to formalise it."

While decisions on major financial and strategic issues, including the approval of budgets and the development of new practice areas, will continue to be made by the equity partners in face-to-face meetings, the recruitment of fixed-share equity partners and recruitment at lower levels can now be made in the chatroom.

The chatroom is available only to equity partners, but Dobson explained: "In time, this could be extended to other groups and other departments."