As an employee at the firm I find their response highly amusing considering 'improved technology' is to blame and yet the place still uses fax machines! You would probably find it difficult to find a firm less technologically advanced than this dive. The redundancy packages are an absolute disgrace, although I do think a lot of people will take them just purely down to the fact anyone with a brain wants out of the place anyway as it is only getting worse there. They cannot even be honest with you in what will happen if these 'voluntary' redundancies are not taken, they cannot give you a specific number of staff they will need to let go from each office and they just feed us with lies! They will probably replace all of the redundancies with apprentices that will leave after a couple of months of hell as that's what they have done with most of the admin staff

They are a battery farm. One would do well to avoid them.

Communication is a joke. The morale is a joke. Management is a joke. The way your treated is a joke. The only good thing about being here is the cakes when it's someone's birthday. If you want a laugh, send them your cv.

Ask Mike Brown for the results of the staff survey...

Nice of him to congratulate the newly promoted partners and associates in the same email as announcing the redundancies. Classy.

The dynamic duo which includes the power crazed lady with the 1980s make up strikes again.... Switch the lights off...

Add in the numerous salaried partners and fee earners in healthcare being made redundant following BLM's recent loss of the NHSLA work for the team, and you have a torrid time. The irony is that agile working was introduced partly to free up desks in expensive offices, and now there will be plenty of free desks from the departing support staff, as a consequence of agile working!

Any half decent lawyers left will be courted by other firms like vultures picking off scraps from the bones of BLM.

Had more independence in reception. Treated like a incapable child. Full of power hungry individuals who are 'sailing' a sinking ship. One rule for one, brown nosing will get you far apparently. Absolutely non existent communication and oh yeah, what was the slogan...clear and concise? might want to rethink that. Pay is atrocious, from salary to the poor amount offered as redundancy, think I've had a bigger bill at McDonalds. On a positive, love the zip tap.

Nonny: 11:20: Sounds just like Keoghs. Uncanny.

Would rather be at Keoghs...

It is a joke! Anyone who has 20+ years' service will get approx £12600 redundancy pay! Thanks for being a loyal employee NOT. As for facility managers (otherwise Janitors) they earn well in excess of £35k for what? Filling paper in photocopiers and fax machines! Horrible horrible place to work. Partners only interested in what profit share at end of year. Staff treated terribly. Seriously thinking of taking the paltry pay off just to get out ??????????

A company that talks about being agile and improving efficiencies ... Yet continues to pay rent on 3 offices in Manchester when they can all fit in one? Seems pretty inefficient to me! As for the tech it's laughable!

Awful place to work believe me. Watch out anyone challenging the power base here. BLM is run by paranoid and unstable partners with over inflated egos who promise fee earners promotion and a good work life balance whilst working them flat out on work with pitiful rates simply because contracts are won with desperation. Work life balance?? no. Security? no. Respect ? no.
They think they can complete with the big firms, hence the move to new offices nearer Lloyds but it is rather like a failing school on special measures introducing new blazers as part of the uniform in an attempt to create a polished impression.
Time to get out quick....

Unfortunately it's those who are not needed in this firm that are deciding who's not needed.

"Join us on our journey as we establish ourselves as one of the leading insurance and risk law specialists in the world." - so says BLM's global page. No offices outside the UK and Ireland though. They are at the same stage of their journey as Bilbo Baggins was when he was sat at home on his hobbit toilet, idly scratching his balls.

Hold on, but we are Insurance Law firm of the year!! That makes up for everything, forget us scumbag monkeys who work in admin support, we are Insurance Law firm of the year! woohoo! where's me banana?

Andrew Relton abandoning ship should have been an eye opener to anyone at BLM to get out! He knew the ins and outs of that company and for him to leave something must of been happening that he did not like! They are getting rid or hard working secretaries with years or experience to bring in cheaper, inexperienced staff to save money but have the nerve to post on the internal intranet underneath the redundancy announcement that they have made up 12 new Associates and 7 Partners!! It is an absolute joke and an insult to their staff!

My advise to people would be to look else where, you will be so much better off, then let them struggle with their LACK of technology and inexperienced staff...BLM is going down the pan! feel sorry for the innocent people who get dragged down with it!

The Glasgow office is full (with one or two exceptions) of partners who are so far up their own backsides and only interested in money they are totally inhumane and don't live in the real world. Six full time or mixture of full time/part time staff being made redundant. Maybe if they lived in real world and stopped spending on first class travel to Manchester and London offices and so much hospitality to clients some jobs could have been saved. Selfish selfish Horrible people

Yes but they have lost the NHSR tender so this is to be expected. There is no work to do.

Think of the TV programmes "The Call centre"(with Nev) ,The Office, and 'the Apprentice" and you have BLM but without any Sir Sugar or Karen Brady.
Absolutely no coincidence that their last offices at London Wall was the old London Asylum. Unfortunately the lunatics have escaped and moved further into the CIty.
Channel 4 should do a documentary.

I do find it hilarious that you're all moaning about the place and yet you've all clearly been there forever and a day with no understanding about what's happening in the real world, even the story tells you this is happening across the profession.. As today's comments show you're hardly an overworked bunch, you seem to have a lot of time on your hands to bitch about your firm.

To anonymous user at 21.06, yes as you say a lot of us have been there forever and a day. The only reason for this is a lot of us started off working for great firms for that firm to be gobbled up by the despicable BLM. How life changed for a lot of us. ??????

Look at the management team in Manchester. A joke.

The fee earners left at the firm are planning an exit strategy. Fee earners have been hit with increased targets with punishment given to those who don't meet their targets which is not the way to deal with adults and a positive reward scheme with other real incentives would have been much better . You get good people to work hard by making them want to. I see some individuals who will stay as they lack confidence in themselves, hardly the ones who inspire confidence and get the work.

Cutting support staff affects everyone. Blm expect staff to work around the clock for mediocre pay, bonuses that never happen, 25 days leave, no flexibility and no fun whilst management do not communicate and look down on staff if you dare to challenge the outdated system. Make people want to be there and management need to relax and not make the place feel like a prison. Publish the results of the survey and stop avoiding the inevitable. Be bold, accept no one is happy and change it.

Southampton is drowning with work, hense why a new fee earner is having a break down once a week. Funny how they don't replace fee earners either.. are they trying to tell us something?

As an ex BLM. employee my heartfelt sympathy goes out to my wonderful hard working ex secretarial colleagues who are a hard working bunch. I could see this coming long time ago as the company as a whole is a joke ! The company compares itself to premiership clubs yet pay non league wages to support or want to be a champagne club yet wants to pay lemonade wages.
As for you Mr Brown, publish those staff survey results and let's see the true picture of your firm !!! Yes a sinking ship !

The posting by anonymous at 21.06 last night is either one of the highly paid PR marketing bods or a partner.
It is more "hilarious" that this lone pro BLM Rof ffer inferred staff should be working not posting on the site when, at that time )(21.06) my poor friend who still works there was actually still working at 21.06 as she is swamped by work with very low charge out rates, much of which she can't charge because the deal done for that client is pathetic. The partners however left at 5.30 to enjoy their work life balance.
Why don't you listen to what is being said before you sink.

I don't think he abandoned ship due to some sixth sense. Bad Stuff happened on his watch. Not only the NHS contract. I hear a big insurer too but it's hush hush.

I worked at the London office a few years ago and couldn't get out quick enough.
Do the partners still insist the attractive female fee earners take male clients out to clubs? Can you still get promoted if you are not good at your job but are a favourite of a partner for some personal reason?

Insurance litigation is a race to the bottom.

Claimant firms offering to take pretty much everything on a CCFA.
Defendant firms accepting capped fees of hundreds of pounds for cases that need thousands.

Those agreeing these types of deals getting a pat on the back for 'bringing work in' and landing clients'. These same people go missing when there is a problem due to overworked staff making mistakes.

Wow this sounds like Keoghs - Keoghs would "manage" people as they basically cant afford to pay qualified staff and get green behind the ears staff as they can pay them cheap. Its alright for the partners there - too many chiefs the saying goes.....

The only peolple safe at the London office are the IT Dept. The blue eyed workers who are only ever seen on Fridays and even then nobody is sure what they do??? There seems to be more managers in IT than the whole of BLM !!! As for the white haired one who is the head of IT the less said the better !!!!
Thank you and good night

Discussion - if this is a race to the bottom as the foregoing comments suggest, does this also suggest that their clients also accept that by association, they too are on the race to the bottom.

BLM can't be that bad they have had a lot of loyal staff for a number of years. If you are prepared to insult the company then why not take the redundancy they are offering then? The support staff that want to stay there for all the right reasons, won't be the ones that have to go.

if its a compulsory situation then anyone is game for getting canned

Anonymous user at 19:54 - the firm was well run and it was easier to tolerate the abysmal salaries when Terry Renouf was in charge, as there was a good collegiate atmosphere and reasonable expectations. But the firm is in a bad way now. Many fee-earners who were once loyal have left, for firms with better salaries and management. Those still there include an unhealthy mix of senior staff getting their pound of flesh from those below, those who are institutionalised and don't have the ability or confidence to go elsewhere, and those.who are looking elsewhere. There is such an arrogance at senior management level that has, sadly, devalued the firm. Hard to see how it can attract substantial numbers of talented people and see the PEP and salaries rise any time soon.

anonymous user
11/06/2017 16:16

The clients see those doing the tender pitch. These are typically supply chain or claims directors. They will fly in and fly out again for the tender. Those left picking up the pieces are often claims handlers who realise it's a race to the bottom but are too junior to effect change.

Re the last post -EXACTLY! so staff who suck up the crap treatment and conditions and don't complain can stay? Hardly the proper way to select redundancies!! Maybe staff are actually worried about raising concerns in that climate.
I can imagine
"Dear X
Thank you for not insulting us and for remaining loyal despite the terrible pay and conditions here.
I am delighted to inform you that you can stay.
However please have an urgent meting with your insane autocratic supervising partner as it has come to our attention you have had a sick day this month, are 2 hours behind target and could not stay until 7pm last night to help organise your supervisor's nieces party.

Grateful management

You need the technology and the IT Dept otherwise you will all be using pens and paper and be back in the dark ages....

How is it the IT Dept's fault the firm making people redundant? Everyone questions IT Dept's work ethics but they are the Dept that work the hardest to keep any company going.

IT department is never the reason a law firm goes bust.

It's normally senior management.

A Berrymaids Tale:
I served under the BLM regime for a considerable number of years and the atmosphere was one of egos, self-importance and superiority from the senior and line management. This was combined with the delusion and belief that this was a ‘Magic Circle’ firm, but it was more Zippos Circus. Some of the partners displayed a thoroughly ‘toxic’ personality and the general attitude from them was that support staff were of a lesser caste and they were there to serve in the great BLM insurance claim machine. I heard a rumour that one support staff employee that had worked there over ‘eight’ years, had their Christmas bonus taken away because they decided to leave just before the festive break. The comment on this forum about announcing promotions to Associates and Partners on the intranet, whilst announcing redundancies is classic BLM and says it all about the operation. Lovely to see their ‘Visions and Values’ finally being recognised. It also states on their website: “we recruit to retain” and underneath that there’s also a Modern Slavery Statement on the website, but it’s difficult to find…

the only person who has been truly busy at that firm in the last few yrs is their in-house employment junkie - never been so busy!

Reckon the writing is on the wall for this bunch.
Hope clients read this.

BLM: 31% in the RollOnFriday Firm of the Year 2017. Even prisoners at a North Korean labour camp, who were tortured, crippled from work accidents and had frostbite, voted 40% in a satisfaction survey.

Drain The Swamp....of all the low level supervisors right through to the mid/senior level management. Weed out the rotten eggs. Like the poster above said - IT doesn't ruin a law firm like this. It’s the toxic narcissists that litter the place and are given the anonymity and remit that allows them to get away with it. All this whilst making the people they rule over not wanting to even go to work. It's an approach that has collapsed the core from within whilst sucking the life and spirit out of the place in the process. And just when the environment couldn’t get any worse they rolled in short term hatchet bods…’nothing to worry about they said’….as the waft of redundancies grew a lingering stench. Make no mistake Mr Brown, there are people working here who are hell bent on protecting their positions and in turn the likes of Graphene will be a costly exercise both personally and financially that will produce zip. In Manchester they house people in what can only be described as storage areas, in partially dimmed rooms, separated by dark corridors with warehouse like kitchens. The thriving homeless community on Deansgate are housed better. It’s in cases like this so many innocent, hard working & well intended loyal employees get sunk. Management, hang your head in shame, robbing people of their jobs, robbing them of worthwhile severance, allowing the lunatics to run the nut house. But hey, we are the Insurance Firm of the Year....don’t make me laugh - it's like putting a cherry on a turd and asking us to tell them it’s tasty.

It's exactly the same at Kennedys. A more depressing place to work there cannot be.

Middle range insurance outfits are becoming harder to distinguish. There really is little difference between BLM, Kennedys, DWF, DAC Beachcroft, Keoghs, Browne Jacobson, etc.

Beware the drizzle makers, masquerading as rain makers, leaping between all of the above firms for 2-3 year stints.

As I make my way into work this morning reading these comments just reminds of how awful my Manager is and the feel of dread at the thought of seeing or hearing her. A terrible place to be, made worse horrible Managers. Wish me luck....

I disagree. There are good and bad firms in all sectors.
But BLM are beyond bad. People flee BLM to go to the others as shell shocked casualties but you rarely see it the other way round.

If the management looked at HR and those that are so called HR who attend pretend meetings with so called friends and drink wine at lunch then get rid of that person and you will save two support staff who actually do the work

What is it with this place that it attracts so many toxic individuals at partner, management and mid-management level. Maybe there's something in the water? Or the 'free tea and coffee' they offer as an incentive.

Q
"What is it with this place that it attracts so many toxic individuals at partner, management and mid-management level. Maybe there's something in the water? Or the 'free tea and coffee' they offer as an incentive"

A
Simple ..perfect opportunity for good money, no stress & an opportunity to exert power.

I get the feeling we don't need to see the results of the staff survey, this read speaks for itself!!

Oh yes, the business is of guilty of employing power crazed not rights who then employ incapable junior tell tales to manage the minions, all the while increasing their warped self worth at the consequence of the poor staff and morale. A putrid environment.

The post about HR (14/6/17 9:23) is so true and so funny. Well done to the person who posted it ! Hahahahahahahahahahahhahahhahaha. Hey HR raise your wine glasses ! Hahahahhahha

Taxi/Jet for Brown?

Someone needs to start taking notice of the exit interviews at this Gulag. Partner and Management level need to be evaluated or certified. Probably the latter judging by the comments on this forum.

So know volunteers for statutory redundancy what a surprise, you will receive the same sum if picked on a criteria they won't discuss. Of course those in HR will be safe on their WFH days where they are booked out for private meetings, leave at 4 on a Friday and generally just pop into meetings rooms for discussions. Support help the lawyers with chargeable hours, lets have a printout to see if they are actually logged on!

I see the dress down code has been relaxed...but as usual one rule for one when it comes to footwear, and another rule for everyone else.
Then again depending on who you are, you can just ignore the dress down code all year round, sit down in front of HR and nothing will be said.

No question, there will more redundancies...watch this space

Voluntary redundancy quota met..... que the next round of redundancies. Who's next target then?

Well, not Leeds. They've already ripped the heart out of it....

Is it any surprise that the Leeds office will be shut? There are only a handful of people there and it has never been a success. There is no commercial sense in keeping it open.

Saddened to read the myriad of negative comments posted in relation to the current working atmosphere throughout BLM. I consider myself lucky to have been there during Terry Renouf's tenure and look on those times with fond memories. The comments I read bear no resemblance to the organisation I knew. I feel so sorry for loyal ex-colleagues who continue to work for the company, some of whom have progressed through their relevant departments over the last 20 years.

I'm hearing FM are now in the mixer - lambs to the slaughter, poor management. No surprise as Browns email was loaded with things to come, who is and who isn't out of 'scope'. Rumours are they haven't got the voluntary number either. One things for sure when 2017 is done BLM will be a shell of its former self but the power hunger dictators will get away with it by chucking every poor sod under the train.

As a former employee who left recently due to the impending doom surrounding the place this is is so sad to read.

Leeds was and could have been a successful office. It fell foul of having for many years poor and ineffectual management and none of the firms 'big hitters' going in to bat on its behalf (ie none of the firm's national senior management were either based there, or spent any time there.). Some of its most able staff, who would have been shoo-in's for partnership at any other office were marginalised and ignored for promotion and it suffered in the various rounds of inter office politics and empire building. Its tragic what has happened there and if there had been any will on the firm's behalf to treat it as an equal to some of its other offices it would not be in the position it finds itself in now.

Why alll the support staff/depts? - why are they paying the price for the Managerial dysfunction?

The short term hatchet contractors are earning there blood money at the moment here.

The support staff are suffering because the firm has always been grossly over-staffed with non fee earners-who in this age thinks that going to digital dictation is a modern way of working? The firm also has a ridiculously high ratio of 'partners': fee earners. Partners are also now being trimmed from the business-just look at the filing history on Companies House.
The comment that 'some of the most able staff' were in Leeds is nonsense. If they were any good they would have developed work into the office. They didn't.
I'm afraid these redundancies are an inevitable.

Looks like someone in the supposed know crawled out of their snake pit on Friday! No doubt the comment at 17:17 is one of the rotten Managers that 60+ comments on here are referring too! Likely to be one of the individuals that need throwing out of place, instead they'll be strategically sucking upto the executioners whilst knifing there own personal quota of staff. No doubt you enjoyed your weekend, counting your money. If BLM is too survive at some point they will realise that they need to run people like you out of the place. Deluded dimwit.

What is the new managing doing to address all the dissatisfaction? Has anyone seen or heard from him recently? Where is he?

Come on number 70 you can't be that commercially niave? Sometimes 'fat' has to be trimmed from a busimess for the greater good...including your own job. You will just have to get with the programme or leave...although with the state of your grammar I suspect you will have to stay.

Well I'm sure all the poor sods who have lost their jobs (through no fault of their own) will feel much better knowing that it's for 'the greater good'. I assume the last poster wasn't one of these.....

Obviously it's not nice but better the firm continues rather than ending up like Parabis.

And the comment above just sums up the magnitude of the problems here at BLM, being compared to Parabis! And for that the Management should be fired, en masse!

Rumours are now circulating that six or more health care solicitors are resigning.
Talking of which, anyone seen Mr GA of late, or has he already gone ?

Well done "anonymous user 07/07/2017 18:38".

You were in there a week early. GA's "departure" announced today. Next?

its a shock retirement apparently - watch this space.....

A shock to BLM or a shock to Gary Allison? When did BLM become so nasty? It used to at least be decent to its staff at least until a few years ago

As a current employee of this penny pinching firm, I firmlly believe this is a sinking ship ! The morale has never been so low amongst the support staff.
The firm is an absolute joke and why is the man who is steering this sinking ship not publishing the results of the staff survey?

I've been laughing all day at the news of 17 Facilities staff now being at threat of redundancy. BLM are doing just fine though obviously!

'many of our lawyers are now working in an agile way', 'improved technology' - Alternative Facts