The dusty and desiccated world of niche legal publishing has provided many aspiring journalists with their start. A few ambitious researchers and scribes have even fetched up at Gazette Towers. But the sector has never been noted as a hotbed of industrial strife. Until now.
Trudging down Fleet Street last Monday, Obiter was handed a leaflet by a dissident staffer at Legalease, publisher of the closely watched Legal500 rankings. It turns out that ‘dozens’ of editorial, research and publishing staff at the company are striking for two weeks ‘to win fairer pay’. They’ve been offered 3.4% but want a flat pay increase of £2,000, which they say is better for low-paid workers.
An insider told us that the starting salary for a Legal 500 researcher is £30k. Deputy editors are on £37k. Modest indeed, for central London.
Turnover at Legalease is up 62% since 2021 and the strikers are demanding to share in what is indubitably a corporate success story. ‘Only a handful are working,’ our insider said.
Sharon Graham, formidable general secretary of trade union Unite, has their back. ‘These workers are chronically underpaid,’ she said. ‘This is a profitable company and can afford a much better offer. Legalease needs to urgently come back to the negotiating table or face the prospect of the Legal 500 ceasing production this month.’
Solicitor John Pritchard, who founded Legalease in 1987, remains editor-in-chief. Approached for comment, the company’s CEO Tim Wakefield told Obiter: ‘We respect the right of our employees to take lawful industrial action. We have engaged constructively with Unite throughout this process and remain committed to ongoing dialogue. Our priority is to support our employees, maintain service for our customers and stakeholders, and work towards a constructive resolution.’
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