Not so tough at the top

How bad will it get among City law firms now that the OECD officially says that the UK is in recession?

Actually, the figures just out from Deloitte's quarterly legal sector survey of fee income suggest that business is still pretty rosy. For the first quarter of the financial year, the UK's Top 100 law firms saw income increase by 6.3 per cent on the same period last year: not too bad.

Mind you, the figures are skewed by the way that the top ten firms achieved growth of 11.1 per cent while those lower down the pecking order did nothing like as well.

It looks as if we may be seeing the emergence of two contrasting stories. The rich will get even richer (albeit slightly more slowly than in the past) whereas the poor will drop farther behind. No surprises there, then.

Are you experienced?

You can't fault Herbert Smith when it comes to diversity. Indeed, we will be featuring the firm prominently in this respect later this month when we announce the winners of The Times/Herbert Smith Student Advocacy competition.

Even so, a ripple of agitation fluttered up my spine when I saw an announcement of its “Back to Practice” workshop scheduled for September 15, which is targeted at “experienced professionals” who, typically, have had a career break and are considering a return to work. The workshop will include networking and professional development training and give people a chance to find out about opportunities available at the firm.

My old drinking partner Ian Gatt, QC, whose diversity credentials are impeccable, said: “It's important for us to explore all avenues to make sure that we attract and retain the very best.” Hence the firm's interest in “experienced people”.

My worry is that “experienced” is one of those taboo words that is now regarded as discriminatory. I do hope Herbie's is not going to get into trouble for doing the right thing. Or am I just being paranoid?

Penny wise

It didn't take Jeremy Cape, of Denton Wilde Sapte, too long to see the glitch in the Government's temporary reform of stamp duty. Within minutes of the announcement being made he had pinged out an analysis of its fatal flaw. “The real problem remains the way in which stamp duty is calculated,” he observed. “The stamp duty on a £250,000 house is £2,500. The stamp duty on a £250,001 house is £7,505, an increase of 300 per cent.” The result? “Further downward pressure on house prices in the £175,000 to £200,000 price bracket.” Aren't civil servants supposed to know this kind of thing?

Paperweights

Those useless civil servants really should be at the Ministry of Paperclips to help out Addleshaw Goddard and its conundrum of what to do with 10,000 unwanted paperclips. Go to http://tinyurl.com/5pt8k7 to find out what it's all about.

edward.fennell@yahoo.co.uk

Times Recommends

• The best legal yarns this Christmas
• Legal school 'earned £1m by exploiting bar course'
• Axe may fall on 5,000 more City lawyers