A new generation of lawyers are learning what cost savings in the profession means for them. Many have fallen victim to the most drastic of measures – redundancy; whilst others have see the staff biscuits disappear from meeting rooms. In most firms a combination of tools have been introduced to cut costs – pay freezes, sabbatticals, 4 day weeks and redeployment to name a few.

Whilst any measure that staves off redundancy has been looked on positively at inception, the long-term view might not be so rosy. On the subject of redeployment, the Gazette noted last week:

Professional negligence claims against solicitors are soaring, with one City firm reporting a 158% surge in cases over the past 12 months. And experts are warning that worse may be to come in the downturn, as solicitors are moved to areas with which they are unfamiliar.

Nick Bird, a partner in the legal practices group at City firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, said his firm acted in 80 claims against solicitors in 2008 – up 158% from 31 in 2007: ‘But these are historical cases. It’s too soon to see claims arising from the current recession. They will come, though. [Some] firms have redeployed their best lawyers rather than make them redundant, moving them from transactions, say, to litigation or insolvency where they have never done much work before. Mistakes will be made – and so, inevitably, will claims.’

An ominous prediction. Click here for the full article.