Daily Diary

These charming men

Posted 6/02/2007 by The Daily Diary

New York partners are getting increasing hacked off by spiralling associate salaries eating away at their chunk of the equity cake/pie/pizza/other clumsy food-based metaphor.

After all, why should the mere rank and file – who already get the privilege of spending at least a hundred (billable) hours in those plush offices every single week – get to spend a share of the profits too?

And now, it seems, some of the ungrateful oiks have been getting uppity and looking for jobs at rival firms in the hope of blagging an even cushier deal from their new paymasters.

According to US press reports, one of Manhattan’s finest (we won’t say which) has taken the nuclear option on its worrying attrition rate.

Rather than simply adding another zero to associate salaries, top brass at the firm have outlined an innovative blueprint for a charm offensive, urging partners to say things like ‘thank-you’ and ‘good work’ and even, on occasion, not cancelling associates’ holidays without asking them first.

The Diary is keen to find out which bluechip consultancy picked up a hefty pay-cheque of its own for blue-skying that particular plan of action – and whether it has any jobs going.