Exclusive: The measure may end in a few weeks rather than going until March after fee-earners, partners displeased.
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) has temporarily made Saturdays working days since last weekend and including today, in order to catch up on arrears and get fee-earners to follow-up and complete bills.
It is understood that the six-day-work-week was originally to last until March, to shore up recovery for this financial cycle.
However, fee-earners and partners were not too happy about it and complained, according to several sources.
Management is understood to have responded and CAM’s working Saturdays may now end as soon as in a few weeks, though we could not get official confirmation of this from the firm at the time of publication.
We have reached out to CAM for comment, in any case.
“Billing and recovery is an issue hence management took this call,” commented one CAM insider. “Typically all lawyers are busy attending clients and work during weekdays.”
The management’s original view behind the initiative was that for a few months of Saturdays in the office, the “pending bills and WIPs” [work in progress] could get cleared, added the source.
Working Saturdays are not uncommon in the legal profession, particularly in litigation and chambers practice, though they are not a thing at the majority of corporate law firms.
In 2015, we had reported that one of the outliers, Khaitan & Co, had ditched its permanent twice-per-month working Saturdays, which had not been popular with fee-earners and recruits.
Comments
and if billing takes a day of a week per lawyer ie 4 days a month- clients beware. that is a hell of a lot of time for a lawyer to be thinking of just billing and doing just billing. especially in this weak economy
where noone is working 100percent 100 percent of the time. maybe some are but they assuming they tell the truth they are exceptiona who may only prove then rule.
then there are long lunches and chats and slow pace. basically that day it feels like an office at a farflung place like delhi, hyderabad or calcutta.
Since you aren't: Working on a Saturday does not amount to 'inhuman working condition'. You could use the absence of the said clause your advantage by making a claim for damages.
If you spent your weekdays working instead of reading legally India comments you might not have had to work on weekends.
People like me leave. They don't sit around commenting during billable hours.
Be that as it may, it's not surprising that you are spending 12 hours in the office. You don't read properly. I have left. I bill what I please when I please.
I agree with the first part of your comment Guest. Nobody should be spending 12 hours in office. But from what I gather that's the measure of hard work. Persevere and you will eventually climb the greasy pole.
Union representation is a good idea. I know of some cases where techies have raised an industrial dispute claiming to be workmen under the ID Act. Lawyers? There's some cutting edge legal work right there.
Peace.
It wasn't a hard choice at all.
let us remember most matters are lumpsum- so "billing" means nothing there.
it is maybe closer to time-sheeting which lets the associate write what he is doing in life daily.
the billing reason is therefore a lie and the failure of a firm and a culture.
it is the stuff rollonfriday and its ilks can pick up as it makes very little real truth to link a whole day or half a day of a weekend to "billing".
as billing and related work can be fitted in through regular days, plu there is or should be software if this is so critical (which cant take a day) and when many matters are lumpsum not hourly.
1. Hire a lot more professional support functions who can turn around docs, proofread etc, who can come in shifts (all through week). This would help in improving the quality of documentation, and free up associates to actually focus on proper work, and even on billing on regular days.
2. Whatever AI, they say they are deploying is still clearly a work-in-progess and may take time. Professional support function could ease transitional pains, and let associates do actual work (or even be trained in a systematic manner). Honestly, it's very difficult to even trust PAs with simple deals in our line because there are quality control issues, which i think is cropping up because people are overworked and stretched and barely end up reading the law.
This is not a criticism of the firm but Indian law firm practice in general. But it is not just the firm's that are responsible for this 'managed decline' (to borrow from brexit) of this situation - clients expect rolls-royce (in most cases) for a price for 10-20 lakhs and the dispute system in the country lets people get away with shoddy contracts because you would rather be at the mercy of the counteraprties than the courts.
I could go on and on but i doubt whether foreign firms would make a difference given all this and the fact that law firms are barely pulled up for bad work. Gosh! This escalated quickly. I need to get back to billing (just actual billing - i delegate the actual billing to my partner, who is pretty sweet about it).
End of rant.
I had a friend you came to office at 8, 8:30 and left at 6:30. He was generally well regarded and moved abroad few years ago. In many cases the associates come in late cause the partners come in late.
My suggestion: make it mandatory for partners to come on time except where there are courts/ arbitration/ meetings. Cut their salaries if they are late. You may just see some magic.
I quit the firm not long after this and eventually my boss was left by his wife. Presumably for someone who came home before 1am. Good riddance, that.
Algo legal also have one working Saturday per month, where they take sessions on Legal Tech!!! If you want to see something as absurd as having a tool for creating checklist, which never works properly, you should definitely join Algo (there are other things as well which does not work properly).
If the answer in most cases to the above is NO or None, then shouldnt strong action be taken first against the COO's and Head- Accounts who are breeding incompetency and inefficiency.
rest my case...amen
So my advice - fix a meeting with any of the COO/CFO/etc and let them brief you directly? Works? Surely, your questions will be answered much to your expectations and satisfaction. this i can guarantee.
for fault at practice levels, don't blame anyone else. the accounts people chase (internally/externally) and like how in most organisations.
i am told weekly mails etc from COO's/Accounts etc are sent in detailed, someone should be responding to these mails no? The partners don't bother, someone should withhold their retainer fee or even bonus etc right.
I so hope their COO/CFO etc read this, make such recommendations to the management and much more.
for having a conversation, one needs to come to office.
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If you get arrested doing this, remember to call your classmate who chose to go to dusty criminal courts for low pay to bail you out.
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Above-mentioned view does not involve discussions with regulatory and statutory authorities. The authorities may have adverse views.
The whole work on saturday thing is a big SCAM. Everyone is always working on saturday anyway - whether it is home or office. Everyone gets their mails on phone and is expected to react in time. In fact I took all party calls at 2am also.
Billing: Seen how in-house works now (we pay a bomb to the firms) but key challenges: all firms overbill, a bill included proof reading by the PA - 2 hours and by the Associate - 30 mins. Which is hilarious. In-house also works on budget and is restricted by what it can pay so partners suffer major cuts. Often free 'introductory' advise is sought. I know this from the other side now. Its a big MNC but they still arm twist SAM to give preliminary advice.