City firms have already begun putting action plans in place to deal with the disruption caused by the London 2012 Olympics, the Gazette has learned.

London 2012 organisers have written to all firms in the capital warning that capacity on rail and underground services will be stretched unless they take action, with passengers facing delays of up to an hour just to use certain key stations.

Law firms including Linklaters, Simmons & Simmons and Hogan Lovells are putting together action plans more than a year before the Olympics begin on 27 July, including working from home and staggered start and finish times.

One partner at another major City firm told the Gazette that it was expecting productivity to be half that of a normal month, due to transport problems, staff absence and the annual August slowdown.

‘You’re going to have to expect a major hit for the length of the Olympics and Paralympics,’ he said. ‘All firms are having to integrate it into their financial planning as you’ll be looking just to cover your costs during August.’