Ashurst is to vote on changes to its partner profit distribution system that would see partners receive single payments instead of quarterly ones.
The vote is scheduled to take place next month and would mean partners would be paid a single annual distribution within 12 months of the financial year-end. The changes would also result in a small net increase in capital of around £1m.
If the vote goes through, partners will receive the remaining distributions that are due for the 2015/16 financial year next May.
All payments relating to the 2016/17 financial year would then be paid in April 2018 through a single annual distribution.
The move reflects a need to harmonise the partner payment arrangements of both the Australian and UK side of the business.
Historically legacy Blake Dawson paid out all profits in the financial year in which it was generated, while the European offices operated a quarterly distribution system.
Ashurst delayed its quarterly drawings to partners earlier this year, although restarted payments earlier this month.
The firm had been looking to free up cash following a 19 per cent drop in average profit per equity partner (PEP) to £603,000, as well as a string of big-name partner exits in the UK.
The upcoming vote comes just a few months after Ashurst chose to revamp its lockstep system, by extending the ladder and introducing a bonus pool for both equity and non-equity partners.
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