Showing banking contemporaries how to do a bit of restraint…

Pinsent Masons, DLA Piper and CMS Cameron McKenna are among a number of firms that have held back or reduced profit distributions this year. Meanwhile Slaughter and May is considering whether or not to pay out its annual firmwide bonus at the end of the year and Shoosmiths have convinced 90% of staff earning over £25,000 to agree to take a 2.5 per cent pay cut.

Pinsents and DLA have both withheld profit distributions recently although Pinsents is due to make its next quarterly payment in December. DLA has yet to decide on its next payment in November. It is understood that Slaughters is in discussions about whether it will pay its bonus or whether to make changes to it’s scheme.

Shoosmiths have implemented their latest cost-cutting measure having already introduced a pay freeze for 2009-10 and suspended the Christmas bonus.

The upside, no fat cat accusations; though a hefty bonus probably eases that pain.