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A group of ex-Hammonds partners are meeting this week to co-ordinate their response to a request to repay some of their drawings, as it emerges that the national giant is considering a loyalty bonus for existing partners.

As Legal Week went to press, a group of at least 15 former equity partners were due to meet in London to co-ordinate their tactics in the wake of demands for them to pay sums as high as the six-figure mark to the firm in order to cover over-drawings.

The meeting comes after the firm sent out letters earlier this year to ex-partners who had left within the previous 12 months asking them to repay over-drawings that had been paid out to them.

The partners, who are now at a variety of firms, will discuss forming a common approach to the request, which could lead to a repayment scheme lasting up to five years.

However, one member of the informal working party told Legal Week: "It is all very positive and constructive. This group of departed partners just wants to achieve an amicable resolution."

One former equity partner told Legal Week he had been asked to repay more than £100,000 and it is understood some ex-partners sought advice this year from Reynolds Porter Chamberlain and Yorkshire practice Gordons on contested exit terms.

Meanwhile, Hammonds’ management is examining ways in which the firm can shore up the firm’s relationship with its existing equity partners after their agreement in April to sign a controversial 14-month lock-in deal.

It is understood the package could involve allocating partners a larger share of future profits. One Hammonds partner told Legal Week: "There are proposals in terms of reviewing how to remunerate partners who have remained loyal to the firm."

A Hammonds spokeswoman stressed the proposals were still in their infancy.

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