Exclusive: BLM partners in mass resignation

Half the partners in BLM's Southampton office have resigned.

According to an inside source, eight partners have handed in their notices en masse, including the head of the Southampton and Bristol offices, Michael Renshaw. The office has 16 partners in total.

The partners who are bailing are apparently citing management issues and the salary and bonus system as the key reasons for leaving BLM. Although presumably Renshaw thought his own leadership skills were ok. There are, say RollOnFriday's sources, "more disillusioned partners waiting in the wings". Other lawyers and non-fee-earners are also expected to leave. Which is perhaps not surprising given that a lot of work is presumably about to walk out the door.

They all agreed not to break into a run until they were round the corner

The firm got a pasting in the RollOnFriday Firm of the Year 2016 survey, in which it came fourth from bottom with 33%. Staff said the pay was "horrendous", entreating, "you should look into it - it really is a complete joke". Others said there is "terrible communication from the top" and a "totally opaque" bonus system. Employees are apparently so used to departures they have found a silver lining: "Members of staff leave and are not replaced which means there is room to stretch out on spare desks". At this rate they will have a floor each to themselves, following news that BLM is making mass redundancies in its Manchester office.

A spokeswoman for BLM told RollOnFriday, “We have received a number of resignations from lawyers within our Southampton office who have chosen to pursue new opportunities elsewhere at some point in the future".

But although half the office may be about to vanish, "We have strong relationships with customers currently supported by lawyers in Southampton and have been assured of their continuing support for BLM. We do not anticipate any impact on our existing relationships with those customers".

In fact, "The firm continues to attract talented people from within the industry and we look forward to announcing a number of key appointments at the firm in the very near future”.

Comments

I am also a partner in BLM and agree that the pay is a total joke. There are a lot of underpaid and disgruntled staff in this firm and the Senior Partner ought to sit up and take notice.

The fact that there are many longstanding employees who have been with BLM for ten to twenty years does paint a different picture to this story. The article also fails to mention how much has been invested into the Southampton office, it's not going anywhere. There are always some of who think the grass is greener. It generally isn't.

If you look at reviews of people who work at keoghs, they are all very negative. Poor pay is noted and awful management.
Enough said.

This is not an objectively well written article! It is biased and doesn't provide a balanced view, the mocking tone of the article speaks volumes.
Customers are likely to stand by blm who will use this as an opportunity to fight back, strengthen relationships with their customers and win further work.

lol

I was not aware Renshaw was the head of the Southampton and Bristol office.
If you look at Keogh's website you will see they are recruiting for their Southampton office.
This is all part of a desparate attempt to bolster their large loss offering.
The clients will support BLM through this.
Oh and remember what happened last time Keoghs opened an office in Southampton....

This firm used to show decency and respect to its employees but not now. It operates on coercion and really couldn't care less about its staff. Overworked, ridiculously underpaid (my colleagues in the legal world regard BLM as a joke when it comes to salary) they are treated as a pure commodity and easily disposable. The management is appalling and NSP is a source of derision. Myself and many others are looking for a way out but do yourself a favour, don't apply for any vacancies! That is if they even bother to try and replace. There are teams begging for more staff who can't get the go ahead for them. Management are interested only in profit. Yet another year where only the lucky few get a miserly pay increase.