The party season is upon us!

Every year I provide a snapshot of the goings on at our xmas bash. One thing that can always be guaranteed is that there will be a SCANDAL of some kind involving two people you normally wouldnt expect to misbehave. This year didnt disappoint

But more of that later

My role at these events is always one of crowd control. It comes with the territory nowadays and this is a burden shared by many of my contemporaries. You simply cant let your hair down any more at these events.

That said, you do get to stay scandal free which can be very useful during the coming year.

Here is the scorecard for the night (despite our best efforts)

- 3 vomiting trainees

- 1 fight (well alright a minor scuffle between two aspiring associates)

- 4 very open and steamy snogging sessions

- 2 people making complete asses of themselves trying to paw members of the opposite sex (with an unsuccessful outcome)

- 5 people remonstrated with for abuse of the extremely shortlived "FREE" bar (major no-no)

- 9 people late for work the next day

- 2 stripteases when Sex bomb by Tom Jones came on

Sadly there is one possible sacking following a grope that went badly wrong. The groper thought his actions were appropriate, the victim most certainly did not. Discussions are ongoing but he's got to go in my opinion, it was borderline re police involvement.

In addition to the above there were two quite shocking trysts.

One involving a married partner (a common event) and the other two chaps caught in a cubicle.

The fact that the two chaps were caught at it would not be such a big deal but they were discovered by a senior partner who went for a pee and heard them on the job. "Im not having that sort of thing going on in this practice" came the response. Oh dear..... if only he knew what else was happening on the night!

Id better keep my little scorecard to myself

Have a merry one everybody..... and dont forget, at the xmas party you are always being watched. Take my advice and have your fun elsewhere!!

If this doesnt make you laugh.......

From Tim Kevans blog - the funniest cat clip ever:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nVM4fB6td9o

How much do solicitors get paid?

Now here's a subject you wont see written about often, if ever on the blawg circuit.

PAY!

Bit vulgar for some but lets face it - you aint in this game for the love.

How much is a 2 year qualified solicitor paid nowadays?

We are recruiting right now and weve got the usual discussions going on with senior staff. We all read the Gazette and see the salaries on offer. Remuneration will generally be based on a few key factors:

Location
Candidates experience
Specialism
The firm's policy

Now we had a good discussion this week about commission versus nailed on salary. My view is that we should offer low to mid range salary packages with good commission so that the successful candidates can earn good money if they work hard and get results. Equally if you mess about you will get very little above your salary.

Regular readers (I have around 5) will know that I dont like shirkers or trainees who think the world owes them a living. Im old school and proud of it.

People in our senior team seem to favour mid level salary with little or no commission. The package is enhanced after 2 years etc.

For a 2 year qualified solicitor in the personal injury field:
With commission - good people will earn around £40k

Without - it will be in the low 30s

We dont offer any extra benefits - its a lean mean machine that we run here Im afraid. But my view is commission works every time over guaranteed salary.

Here's some useful info on salaries in the industry

Oh and by the way - I earn £65k plus bonuses, private healthcover, fuel allowance, life cover and I also get free coffee - in case your wondering

Our top men earn around £80k plus the extras and equity share

The top man clears £120k plus his bonuses and of course the largest slice of equity

When you get to this level - the job definitely does pay well.

Told you this was a vulgar subject - but why the hell shouldnt we discuss it on the blogosphere?

New legal blogs

Not had a look around for fresh blood for some time. In the last 12 months that I have been blogging there has been a surge of new blawgs coming online.

Here is a few that caught my eye:

Pupillage and how to get it

Law Minx

Liadnan

Law Actually



Oh how I pray for an insurer based blogger (or blawgger) to publish something - surely they must have something to say on that side of the fence?

When partners get sacked

Had a tough time recently. A senior partner got the bullet following a series of cock ups and issues with his team.

It was sadly a slow death. First he was moved to an office fondly known as "the cellar". Then stripped of staff responsibilities and reporting duties. Finally he was bombarded with files which he was ill equipped to deal with.

Its the classic law firm guillotine method. Humiliate and then pile the pressure on.

The inevitable happened and he cracked - walking out with barely a whimper or a backwards glance. 14 years service and bugger all to show for it - not even a lunch or a card.

He is a nice enough chap and as you might expect people were upset at the way things were handled.

There will soon be a succession and regrettably this will involve an external appointment. What a pain that is going to be. Usual scenario is that someone will come in and be offered the chance of partnership if they impress. Few succeed

An aspirant solicitor out to impress can however, be a very dangerous beast. The next few months could be rather interesting.

Skeleton crews and coping with the holiday season

At this time of year as a manager of a team you have one major headache

Holidays - or as lawyers prefer to call it - annual leave

Now personally speaking I have two breaks every year one at Christmas for 10 days and one in early summer for two weeks. I dont as a rule take time during the year save for an odd day here and there. My reasons for taking such limited time off is simply that it is expected of me.

Ive had this routine for a while now and so have become accustomed to it. You cant complain if you reap other rewards generally and if the top brass dont holiday much - neither do the next tier down.

Now this little unwritten sub clause is not one that the junior staff need to adhere to. Its the one thing I envy them for. Leave will be used up at every opportunity

Right now were deep in the doo doo with barely 50% staff - despite this being a planned exercise its bloody difficult to keep everything ticking over.

You can guarantee the following during this difficult period:

- there will be a client complaint about service on an absentees file
- there will be a CMC on an absentee's file that lands annoyingly on the worst possible day
- the brass will ask awkward questions about an absentee's file you know there are problems with
- somewhat unhelpfully, other departments will offer little assistance and may relish the opportunity to give you a slap
- Morale for those left behind will be very low indeed.

How do you deal with this?

Simple - you get your skeleton crew pissed every Friday evening for the duration of the holiday slog. Young lawyers will always be happily rewarded with free beer and cheap curry.

Its a fact - Im telling you