Exclusive: DAC Beachcroft accused of dismissing assistants for misconduct
30 November 2012
A number of assistants at DAC Beachcroft have apparently been kicked out of the firm for gross misconduct. But the firm is refusing to say how many or even explain what they might have done.

Two months ago RollOnFriday reported that DACB had trawled through the emails of several lawyers and had suspended a number of them pending further investigation. The arse-clenching meetings with HR that followed can't have gone well, as insiders say that around ten assistants were shown the door.

It seems an extraordinary situation, but DACB's responses seem to confirm it. RollOnFriday had several conversations with the firm, which originally said that "fewer than ten" were affected, then that "no one has been dismissed", and then that no one had been dismissed "in the last few weeks", and finally "we do not comment on any personnel issues". So that'll probably be nine, then, put on notice three weeks ago.
 

DACB yesterday

 
Insiders have muttered darkly about redundancies by the back door, but that seems unlikely as it is rumoured that several of the hapless assistants were well ahead of their billable targets for the year. So the question remains, what exactly does DACB believe they have done?