After it emerged that Clifford Chance spent almost £60m during the last financial year on its restructuring and redundancy programme, the firm’s remaining lawyers probably needed a renewed focus. In the immediate future, traditional lawyer aims such as nailing billing targets and chasing pay rises might not the most feasible ways to ensure the goal-oriented maintain their motivation or their morale. So how about diverting excess energies towards something that ticks the acheivable and beneficial boxes instead?

A new award for encouraging staff to take responsibility for driving the firm’s corporate responsibility strategy should give motivated Chancers longing for a return to all-nighters and take-away pizza an alternative challenge to strive for. This smart bit of thinking will harness the competitive nature of the firm’s employees to improve the firm’s external image. In the meantime it should divert some attention away from the ongoing recession and the possibility that the steam might have been sucked out of their legal careers for a while. All Clifford Chance employees are eligible for the awards and the winners will be announced at an awards dinner in December. So if the billable hours are a bit thin, a CR oscar could make a handy bit of padding.

CC’s annual report reveals £60m costs of firm restructuring [Legal Week]
Clifford Chance launches awards to highlight corporate responsibility [The Lawyer]