Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas fast-tracks bonus payouts

In a bid to pep up the morale of its 750-strong employees, largely working from home, law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has fasttracked its annual variable bonus payouts to beat the pandemic lockdown.

At a time when businesses are looking to cut costs, Cyril Shroff, managing partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, said the firm wanted to stay true to its people-first culture.

“They need to be rewarded for the work,” said Shroff. Overall, payouts this year were around 5 per cent above last year.

Law firms generally hand out annual bonus to employees in the March-april time frame. Given the lockdown, most law firms are looking to conclude the assessment process and payouts by April-end, some industry players said.

To pep up employees working from home, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has lined up several partner calls with external speakers, including management consultants and spiritual leaders.

Shroff plans to hold full-firm calls twice a week to keep up the morale of all employees.

Shroff said the firm has been investing heavily in technology for many years. And that has held up well in these trying times.

“We closed several transactions working from home,” he said. Over 750 lawyers and support staff are currently working seamlessly from home, he added.

However, striking a note of caution, Shroff said the next financial year is likely to be challenging for both employers and employees.

Many in the legal fraternity agree that stress in the business environment would take a toll on employee remuneration. Most firms have had to invest heavily over the last couple of months on technology to make themselves work-from-home ready, experts said.

The uncertainty in business environment has taken a toll on business development and marketing activities, they added.