Voluntary redundancies and salary freezes at Allens Arthur Robinson are not a forerunner to forced layoffs, says AAR boss Michael Rose.

"I've said it is not our agenda to respond to the likely downturn by instituting a firm-wide redundancy programme. The voluntary redundancy programme has absolutely no targets in terms of either numbers, positions or any specific roles in the firm. It just one of a number of options being made available."

Rose said the firm's plans across the Asia region would vary from country to country. "In Asia our response will most likely vary from office to office and country to country, depending on the nature of our practice, whether or not we have a joint venture and the impact of the downturn on the country concerned." AAR is currently in a number of joint ventures with local firms across the region. In Singapore the firm is in a formal joint-law venture with TSMP Law Corporation, in Thailand it has an alliance with Siam Premier while in Indonesia it is allied with Widyawan & Partners.
 
The steps being taken by the firm are all about maintaining growth in the long run according to Rose, who cites the firm's recent intake of  77 graduates as evidence of this trend. "We just took on 77 graduates last month and we have a pipeline running out for the next two years and we don't intend to make any changes to that pipeline. The steps we are taking are positioning the firm for the long-term and inevitable recovery in the economy. These steps are not about enhancing short-term profitability. We have a partnership that is very much focused on the longer term."

However, Rose said that no firm was immune from one of the largest recessions in living memory.  "Our firm has been one of the strongest performers in the Australian legal market over the last year and in Asia we've seen good work in a number of our offices, including Cambodia and Indonesia. However, we have predicted, and been preparing for, a downturn in the legal services market," he said.  "It's a good plan, it's working and it's helping us grow in a softening market."