COVID-19 | CEO slams firms for 'unethical' use of furlough scheme

The chief executive of a law firm has hit out at competitor firms for the ‘unethical’ use of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) just to protect profits.

The Law Society Gazette reported that James Knight, Chief Executive and Founder of top-100 firm Keystone Law, said he has no intention of furloughing staff under the Government’s scheme, even though several leading firms have chosen to do so since lockdown measures were introduced.

He told The Law Society Gazette: “We are very likely to see a meaningful reduction in client instructions, particularly in terms of corporate transactions, and a consequential drop in anticipated earnings.

“However, I do not believe it is ethically responsible to take Government money designed for genuinely cash strapped businesses, in order to maximise our own profits,” he added.