This article asks if the string of layoffs and office closings might indicate preparatons to sell the Legal businsess...
https://www.deweybstrategic.com/2018/11/widespread-layoffs-thomson-reuters-legal-office-closings-follow.html
8 replies (most recent on top)
This TR biog post from 2016 certainly suggests that positioning to sell TR Legal to a Big Four accounting firm is plausible.
https://blogs.thomsonreuters.com/answerson/big-4-accounting-firms-legal-services/
My bet is that legal will be sold in 2020. Streamline costs and appear to be more profitable in 2019 and sell in 2020. Someone posted below on another thread and it’s the most logical post I’ve seen on this site.
“Thomson Reuters Legal (TRL) is now being prepared for sale to one of the Big Four accounting firms (perhaps PwC) in the year 2020. That is why Susan Taylor was, without explanation, removed after the sale of controlling interest in F&R to Blackstone was announced, and Brian Peccarelli (a JD and CPA) was brought in to replace Taylor. The sale of TRL will coincide with the conclusion of Rick King's Scale 2020 program, which has been steadily & quietly consolidating technology resources throughout TRL since 2013.
TRL's July 2018 release of Westlaw Edge, little more than a much-hyped hastily cobbled-together skin on top of WestlawNext, is intended to produce the appearance of new sales & organic revenue growth for prospective TRL buyers and analysts and to distract from the fact that growth at TRL has, in fact, been essentially flat post-recession.”
I doubt TR is selling the legal business. There was an article the other day from Jim Smith about how TR is planning on investing around $2B in acquiring other companies, particularly in the legal space. I don't know what we're going after but it may happen.
This is a very tumultuous time at TR. Not a good time to be here.
Offerstaffing isn't a true concern as many AE's have well over the number of books that are realistic to maintain. Due to this and the outsourcing, the quality of both print and electronic materials have dropped significantly causing a giant decline in TR's revenue stream.
wait jan 1 ... where are they saying that?
How about Media. They haven’t been told anything. They haven’t even been told about the restructuring that has been going on.
Are they doing away with legal publishing? They outsourced parts of this a few years back. Will they turn it all over to our outsourced co workers now?
I know several people who were told they wouldn’t know what position they’ll be in for next year until after Jan. 1st....but that also came with a caveat that TR can eliminate the job at any time either before Jan. or into early next year. Very cruel