In the boutique space, numerous practitioners may be finding it difficult to pay outgoings and keep the business’ head above water, even if they have the clientele and funds in trust.

Sydney-based SME firm Lehman Walsh has decided – in order to support such practitioners during the pandemic – to restructure its own business in order to accommodate a “partners on commission” strategy, and do recruitment on this basis.

What the strategy looks like

Speaking to Lawyers Weekly, Lehman Walsh managing partner Janya Eighani (pictured) said that the new structure and its flexibility are aimed at the following professionals: “Sole practitioners who wish to continue practice but cannot continue maintaining an office and its ongoing expenses (of the figures [simply] don’t make sense), practitioners who cannot afford to pay for staff but have enough workload to keep them going through this tough period, and solicitors who wish to work for themselves with flexibility but do not want to deal with outgoings and employee obligations, have some ability to start signing up clients and want to grow their client base and practice under the umbrella of a reputable and established firm”.

“In short, if you have enough work to continue practice or you can get the work, but cannot afford to set up a firm or simply don’t want to, we offer the most simple and fair alternative,” she posited.

“This will keep practitioners practicing during these difficult times and also makes sure that smaller clients are not left without access to legal services, simply because their lawyers are deciding to shut their doors or wind down, due to the uncertain commercial reality that COVID-19 has brought about.”

The new strategy was designed, Ms Eighani explained, so as to ensure that smaller practices weren’t left unaided.

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“Many want to continue practicing but can’t afford the outgoings in these uncertain times. It also means that clients continue to get serviced by the same lawyers, some of whom they may have been dealing with [for] years. So, it really is a two-pronged approach,” she espoused.

“As for Lehman Walsh, we also get to capitalise on our growth, by taking on lawyers who are great at what they do, can help the firm grown in the long term and simply would have been left without work were it not for someone else covering the overheads.”

Should other firms implement similar measures?

Looking across the profession to other firms, Ms Eighani mused that anything that legal businesses can do to help their fellow practitioners to survive will be “commendable and a duty”.

Moreover, in addition to such showcases of collegiality, there are demonstrable fiscal opportunities, she said.

“The benefit is obvious – if we take on a practitioner with good clients and work, then we also make money. The challenge is taking people on, at great expense to the firm and they not performing as promised.”

But, she added, it “shouldn’t be at the cost of cannibalising the market, with larger firms simply [eating] up smaller firms, buying their ‘books’ on the cheap”.

“Whilst benefits must flow both ways, any actions by the profession should also focus on helping people maintain employment and income,” she argued.

Looking ahead, Ms Eighani said it was still too early to fully appreciate the impacts of the pandemic and whether or not the new strategy will help Lehman Walsh stave off cuts or redundancies, as some BigLaw players have had to do.

“Having said that, whilst we have had to move some of our staff members to part-time positions, we haven’t been forced to make anyone redundant,” she said.

“The volume of work and billings are simply not there at this time, but it is very important that we keep our staff employed for as long as we can, even if it means less profit for the firm.”

Ultimately, she concluded, supporting the legal community is an obligation that should be adhered to.

“During difficult times, we must all band together – if we eat less, at least we all eat less together.”