As reported by rollonfriday.com, the firm is avoiding market trends of lawyer layoffs by offering jobs to lawyers at low rates. So low, in fact, that their hourly rate of ₤9.00 ($17.35) for the contract positions fall a full pound behind the ₤10.00 an hour a contracting cleaning company offers its employees for occasional jobs in London.

A newly qualified lawyer told RollOnFriday that the invitation to work a three-month contract at Lovell on a major piece of litigation quickly soured on learning the rate of pay being offered, and that she would be better off working behind a bar - or maybe even as a cleaner for the law firm.

To the further dismay of the recently qualified lawyer, she believes Lovells was prepared to offer a permanent job off the back of the contract position - leaving many wondering if the firm was also prepared to retain the pathetic hourly rate.

But a Lovells spokesperson defended the rate of pay, stating that the firm had no intention of the roles leading to permanent positions and that "the positions pay at a rate commensurate with the level of legal expertise required and current market conditions".

Still, at ₤9 an hour to do a bunch of photocopying, Folklaw thinks the lawyer in question would have a better chance of gaining experience at the pub. She might earn a pound or two extra an hour too.

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