‘Take Advantage of Banking Crisis’ – Legal Profession Told

With the current negative perception of City banking, it is not only bonuses that have shrunk, but also the reputation and influence of bankers, leaving a window which the legal profession could easily climb through.

With the furore over Stephen Hester’s bonus and the stripping of Fred Goodwin’s knighthood high profile stories, and a general rabid anti-banker feeling strong throughout the nation, bankers are having to live with increased scrutiny of their practices – which, according to the editor of Legal Week, Alex Novarese, provides the legal industry with the ideal opportunity to establish a more prominent role in the City.

“City lawyers have for years been unsure of their proper role, on one hand wanting recognition for forging a British success story but on the other instinctively recoiling from the rough old arena marked public life.” Novarese writes.

“Controversy over Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) bonuses shows bankers are having trouble accepting a reduced status…. How many times have we heard that RBS executives need to be paid the ‘going rate’? What is the ‘going rate’ for running a business propped up by the taxpayer?”

While the earnings of Britain’s bankers has been much discussed, Novarese believes that the earnings of City lawyers should not incur a similar wrath, as they are ‘what a functioning market has determined’ and ‘represent the distribution of real profits free from state support’.

However, while Novarese believes that it is the ideal time for the legal industry to ‘set out its stall’, he expects the profession to ‘remain in its comfort zone, being known for providing a forum for colourful disputes between Russian businessmen’.