Aspiring solicitors left stranded when the formerly listed RBG Holdings collapsed are struggling to find new employers.
Colin Passmore, chair of the City of London Law Society, confirmed he had been contacted by a trainee solicitor representing six others who are still to finding a training contract elsewhere. They are a mixture of existing trainees and those who had been offered contracts and were about to start.
RBG, which owned the law firms Rosenblatt and Memery Crystal, ceased trading earlier this year after giving notice of its intention to appoint administrators. Most of the Rosenblatt business was bought out, but Memery Crystal is in the process of closing, with its partners joining other firms.
Passmore said the CLLS, which coordinated similar efforts following the collapses of Axiom Ince and Armstrong Teasdale in the last two years, had managed to find member firms to help most of those affected by the RBG insolvency. This had reflected the strength and generosity of the legal sector to step up when needed, he said.
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But he is publicly calling for law firms who could take on the remainder and ease the concerns of those seven individuals.
‘These people are inevitably worried about rebuilding their futures in this hugely competitive market,’ said Passmore. ‘I can remember the thrill of getting that magic letter telling me I had secured my articles/training contract, but I cannot imagine what it must be like to have that opportunity taken away before it has even begun.’
The trainees’ predicament has raised the issues of what happens in the fallout from a firm’s collapse. Passmore said it was understandable that partners would want to find another firm as quickly as possible, but there also needs to be consideration for those left behind to preserve the integrity of the profession.
‘Perhaps the Legal Services Board or SRA should put some onus [on departing partners] before they go off to other jobs to say what they have done for those left behind,’ added Passmore. ‘If partners go off to other jobs – as they absolutely should – they should also do something to help that trainee in their team.’
Tony Williams, principal of Jomati Consultants and a former SRA board member, said that in the RBG case, many of the partners had done all they could to secure homes for their people. He conceded it was difficult for regulators to take action but that in general ‘it is pretty unedifying to see partners running to other firms without a thought for their staff’.
Williams added: ‘It is not easy to enforce but perhaps there should be an obligation on all solicitors in a regulated business to use their best endeavours to ensure that all staff including trainees are able to secure alternative employment when the business closes down.’
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