JD Journal » redundancies

Survey: Aussie Partners See Salary Cuts

Erik Even — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:24:27 +0000

A new survey of Australian law firm partners shows plummeting incomes and soaring stress levels.

Mahlab Recruitment reports that partner salaries are down by over 5% in Sydney, and 4% in Melbourne. Last year, partners in both cities saw an 11% increase.

The survey also says that firms have been quietly booting under-performing partners for the last year.

Almost 70% of private practice lawyers were not satisfied with their salary reviews.

Mahlab Recruitment, a legal and practice management recruitment consultancy, has offices in Sydney and Melbourne.

Pinsent Masons Sends Litigation Work to South Africa

Erik Even — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:28:26 +0000

Pinsent Masons, which is in the midst of a redundancy consultation, will outsource litigation work to a firm in South Africa.

It is unclear if any US or UK jobs will be affected, or how many jobs will be created in South Africa.

Birmingham, UK’s Pinsent Masons has started a litigation support service with outsourcing provider Exigent, which the firm already uses for document processing. Qualified lawyers will do the litigation work from an office in Cape Town.

Pinsent Masons LLP is a full-service commercial law firm. The firm ranked amongst the top 15 law firms in the UK and internationally ranks in the Global 100. Pinsent Masons has UK offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London and Manchester, and internationally in Beijing, Brussels, Dubai, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

DLA Piper Cuts 22 in Middle East

Erik Even — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:37:15 +0000

DLA Piper, which in April laid off eight associates in Dubai, is making another 22 positions redundant in its Middle East offices.

Those affected are one partner, eight non-partner lawyers, and 13 staff. One third of the layoffs are in the Dubai office.

The firm has offices in Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Kuwait.

DLA Piper is one of the largest law firms in the world, and is (or at least was) the only firm with more than 3,700 lawyers in North America and Europe.

Collas Day Lays Off 6 Staff

Erik Even — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:16:22 +0000

Guernsey’s Collas Day has made six staff redundant, three of them voluntarily.

The firm is reorganizing, and recently launched a London footprint.

Collas Day, headquartered in St. Peter Port, employs eight partners and 74 staff.

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown Dependency in the English Channel, off the coast of Normandy.

Matheson Ormsby Prentice Lays Off 25 Lawyers, Cuts Salaries

Erik Even — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:07:35 +0000

Dublin, Ireland’s Matheson Ormsby Prentice is laying off 25 lawyers from the firm’s corporate & commercial, banking & financial services, and tax departments. The firm is also cutting salaries by 10%.

Trainees are not being targeted.

The firm made 20 people redundant in February, and blames the economic downturn.

Matheson Ormsby Prentice is a leading Irish corporate law firm. With 600 people, including 77 partners and tax principals, and more than 350 legal and tax professionals, Matheson Ormsby Prentice is Ireland’s largest law firm.

Their headquarters are in Dublin, with offices in London, New York and Palo Alto, California.

Pannone Lays Off 35 Staff, Goes to 4-Day Week

Erik Even — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:57:43 +0000

Law firm Pannone has laid off 35 staff, and is asking employees to voluntarily work a four-day week.

The layoffs affected administrative and support staff in the firm’s real estate and corporate practices.

Founded in 1852, Manchester, UK’s Pannone LLP is a full service law firm with 380 solicitors, 92 partners and a total staff of 780, who all work within specialist teams focusing on the niche work carried out by their department. Headquartered in Manchester, Pannone has satellite offices in Alderley Edge and Hale.

White & Case Lays Off 31 in Moscow

Erik Even — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:29:47 +0000

White & Case has laid off 31 staff in Moscow, as part of the global redundancy program announced in March.

Of the 31 affected, 18 were legal staff.

White & Case LLP is a leading global law firm with 38 offices in 25 countries. It was founded in New York in 1901. The American Lawyer ranked the firm sixth by revenue in the US in its annual Am Law 100 financial survey for 2007.

Nomura Lays Off 10 In-House Lawyers

Erik Even — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:27:52 +0000

Japanese industrial and financial conglomerate Nomura has cut up to 12 legal positions in London.

The firm took over dissolved Lehman Brothers’ European and Middle East equities & investment banking operations, leading to redundancies. Lawyers at both Lehman and Nomura were targeted.

The Tokyo bank expects more cuts.

The Nomura Group saw its beginnings in Osaka in 1919. The group is involved in numerous industries, from oil and gas to construction, chemicals and foodstuffs. It is best known internationally as a financial powerhouse.

Allen & Overy Lays Off 47 Partners, 200 Associates, 200 Staff

Erik Even — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:01:42 +0000

The UK’s Allen & Overy announced in February a plan to lay off 450 jobs in a redundancy consultation.

Well, today’s the day.

Allen & Overy own Black Thursday sees 47 equity partners, 200 associates, and 200 support staff shown the door. Half the cuts will affect the London HQ. There as also been an undisclosed number of voluntary redundancies.

Another 35 partners have been demoted from equity status.

Founded in 1930, Allen & Overy had approximately 5,500 staff in 31 offices worldwide. It is part of the Magic Circle of London-based law firms.

Taylor Wessing Deferring Start Dates

Erik Even — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:52:57 +0000

Anglo-German law firm Taylor Wessing is asking for voluntary deferrals from its September 2009 and September 2010 incoming associate classes.

The 750-attorney firm will pay a stipend of £7,500 ($10,872). Deferred trainees will not be required to accept public interest fellowships.

The firm is offering its employees two extra weeks off each year, in exchange for a 4% reduction in salary. Taylor Wessing also plans redundancies, voluntary and involuntary, and unpaid furloughs.

Taylor Wessing LLP is an international law firm established in 2002, following the merger of UK law firm Taylor Joynson Garrett and German law firm Wessing. The firm has 13 offices around the globe; in Berlin, Brussels, Cambridge, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, London, Munich and Paris, as well as representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Alicante, Spain.

Howard Kennedy Targets 40 Lawyers & Staff

Erik Even — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:58:01 +0000

London’s Howard Kennedy has launched a redundancy consultation targeting 40 partners, associates and support staff across the firm’s property and corporate practices.

Howard Kennedy laid off 20 fee earners and 30 support staff last June.

It has recently completed two mergers with personal injury boutique Douglas-Mann & Co. and London’s DMA Legal.

Ranked among the top 100 UK law firms, Howard Kennedy has 75 partners, 170 lawyers and 270 staff. Founded in 1936 by Harry Howard, the firm was known as H. Howard & Co. before merging with Kennedy and others in 1950 to form Howard Kennedy & Co, and moving into their current offices in Cavendish Square in London’s West End. The firm has been known as Howard Kennedy since 1984.

UK Law Firm LG Lays Off 15 Lawyers, 18 Staff

Erik Even — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:13:27 +0000

UK law firm LG, which seems to have misplaced the rest of its name, has laid off 15 lawyers and 18 staff, four short of the 37 targeted for redundancy.

The firm cut 35 support staff in September 2008.

London’s LG also has offices in Monaco, Dubai, Moscow and India.

Eversheds to Lay Off 10 Lawyers, Defer Start Dates

Erik Even — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:21:59 +0000

Eversheds has launched a redundancy consultation targeting 10 lawyers in its real estate practice.

The firm may find new positions within Eversheds for some of those affected.

Eversheds has laid off 73 lawyers and staff since September 2008.

Also, the firm will defer start dates for roughly half its incoming associates, offering £5,000 to defer for a year. That’s $7,400 — for a whole year. It’s unclear if the offer comes with a cardboard box to live in.

Eversheds is also offering deferred associates a 12-month contract as a paid paralegal with the firm.

Eversheds LLP is one of the largest full service law firms in the world. Headquartered in London, it has 40 offices in major cities across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and China.

Maclay Murray Laying Off 38 Lawyers & Staff

Erik Even — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 18:00:33 +0000

Maclay, Murray & Spens, one of the “big four” Scottish law firms, will cut 6% of its workforce, including some lawyers.

CEO Magnus Swanson says 38 positions will be made redundant, out of a total 579.

Those let go will get an “enhanced” severance package, including outplacement services.

The firm has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Aberdeen and Brussels.

Harneys Dismisses 2 Lawyers, 7 Staff

Erik Even — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:46:39 +0000

One of the world’s leading international offshore law firms, Harney Westwood & Riegels, has laid off two lawyers and six staffers. Another employee’s contract was not renewed.

The decision was blamed on the global economic meltdown.

Founded in 1960, Harney Westwood & Riegels provides the world’s top law firms, financial institutions and corporations with legal services relating to British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Cyprus law.

The firm headquarters is in Road Town, capital of the BVI. The firm also has offices in London, Hong Kong and Anguilla.

London Firms Delay Partner Promotions

Erik Even — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:25:26 +0000

London Magic Circle firms Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy have delayed their 2009 partner promotions.

Clifford Chance will defer this year’s promotions process until the firm completes its restructuring this Summer, which is likely to cut the firm’s partnership up to 15%.

Allen & Overy is delaying its partner promotions until at least the beginning of May, when the firm will have completed its global restructuring. The firm expects to see 47 partners, or 9%, ousted by the end of the financial year.

Clifford Chance LLP is the largest law firm in the world, both by number of lawyers and revenue. It is a prestigious international practice with its principal office at Canary Wharf in London.

Founded in 1930, Allen & Overy has approximately 5,500 staff and 31 offices worldwide.

De Brauw Targets Up to 90 Support Staff

Erik Even — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:49:07 +0000

Speaking of The Netherlands, leading Dutch law firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek has launched a support staff redundancy consultation, set to affect up to 90 jobs over a two-year period.

The firm has frozen support staff salaries for 2009 and 2010.

No lawyer cuts are currently planned, although partners expect a substantial decline in profits per equity partner.

Despite the redundancies, De Brauw has pledged to continue recruiting. The firm is preparing for an office launch in Beijing.

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is headquartered in Amsterdam, with branch offices in London, New York City, and The Hague. The firm has 76 partners and 260 lawyers. The firm was founded in 1871.

De Brauw is lead counsel to over 40% of the top 100 companies in the Netherlands.

Reed Smith Lays Off 26 Lawyers, 74 Staffers

Erik Even — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:51:42 +0000

Today Reed Smith laid off 26 attorneys and 74 staff across its US and UK offices.

Seven of the lawyers are in the US, and the firm has targeted 9 in London for redundancy.

All of the affected associates are in the corporate and real estate practices.

The laid off employees will get severance and outplacement assistance.

Founded in 1877, Reed Smith LLP employs 1500 attorneys in 23 cities worldwide. The firm counsels 28 of the top 30 US banks, and 10 of the world’s 12 largest pharmaceutical companies. In addition to the United States, Reed Smith has offices in the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Dentons Cuts 37 Lawyers, 39 Staff

Erik Even — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:42:44 +0000

Denton Wilde Sapte has cut 37 lawyers and 39 staff.

The redundancy process was completed last week, after a consultation with 80 staff members in the firm’s London and Milton Keynes offices.

Dentons says half of the redundancies were voluntary. Three staff members kept their jobs after agreeing to take a six-month sabbatical, and one employee switched jobs.

Laid-off staff will be offered an “enhanced” redundancy package, as well as assistance in training costs and career counseling.

Denton Wilde Sapte LLP, or Dentons, is a law firm headquartered in the City of London that employs over 600 lawyers.

Dundas & Wilson to Cut 50

Erik Even — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:56:58 +0000

Edinburgh’s Dundas & Wilson, Scotland’s largest law firm, will cut up to 50 jobs across its three offices as work dries up in the economic meltdown.

Dundas & Wilson, which has offices in Glasgow and London, has already asked some of its 35 graduate trainees to defer their positions for 12 months.

The cuts will be spread proportionally throughout its three offices, which have a combined headcount of 669 staff, and will be evenly split between lawyers and staffers.

Partners are counted among those set to lose their jobs.

A 30-day consultation process is under way involving the staff who would be affected by the cuts.

Dundas & Wilson is the 39th largest law firm in the UK.

Blake Dawson Layoffs Tomorrow

Erik Even — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:40:30 +0000

Blake Dawson will announce redundancies tomorrow, Friday the 13th, with “less than 100″ people affected.

The firm says the cuts are all related to the global economic meltdown.

This will be the second round of redundancies at the Melbourne, Australia-based firm, as at least four property and finance lawyers have been laid off since the beginning of the year.

If you know anything about impending layoffs at Blake Dawson, please send us a confidential tip!

Blake Dawson is a commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia it is considered one of the top commercial law firms.

Blake Dawson was previously known as Blake Dawson Waldron or BDW. The firm shortened its name to ‘Blake Dawson’ in November 2007.

DLA Piper Lawyers Angry Over Severance

Erik Even — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:19:10 +0000

An internal document leaked to the press reveals that DLA Piper lawyers in the UK are angry over the severance package being offered to redundant attorneys.

The firm launched its second UK redundancy consultation in February, with up to 80 lawyers and more than 100 support staff targeted.

Employee representatives believe the severance package is less that what laid off attorneys are receiving st comparable UK firms.

Those DLA Piper lawyers volunteering for redundancy will be paid up to 20th March, and then receive their contractual notice period plus one month’s pay. Those that have been with the firm for at least two years will also receive statutory redundancy equating to one week’s pay for each year’s service, capped at £350 ($483) a week. Those not volunteering receive the same package without the additional month’s pay.

By comparison, Linklaters is offering three weeks’ pay for every year with the firm, plus three months’ notice.

DLA Piper HR manager Helen Waterson reportedly told the representatives, “The firm has made its decision – to say ‘increase the package’ is not constructive as we’ve said that isn’t an option.”

The document reveals that 7% to 8% of its partnership has recently left the firm. Since the London office implemented a recruitment freeze last June, it has seen only 37 hires, despite the loss of 145 employees.

We previously reported anger at DLA Piper over redundancy criteria that included severe penalties for taking sick days.

DLA Piper is one of the largest law firms in the world, with more than 3,700 lawyers in 28 countries and 66 offices throughout the world.

Allen & Overy to Cut 30% of Trainees

Erik Even — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:38:55 +0000

London’s Allen & Overy will only retain 70% of its trainees for September 2009 and March 2010.

The Magic Circle firm has not made a final decision about the retention rate, and said the figure was a “working assumption in light of the current financial climate.”

Allen & Overy retained 86% of its trainees in 2008, 90% in 2007.

The firm offers its training contracts two years in advance, with some 50 trainees joining each year.

Allen & Overy is expected to cut 9% of associates, 9% of support staff and 9% of its partnership.

Around half of the affected positions are in London. The firm is also freezing pay and billing rates at 2008 levels.

Founded in 1930, Allen & Overy has approximately 5,500 staff and 31 offices worldwide.

Burges Salmon to Cut 18 Lawyers

Erik Even — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:28:43 +0000

Burges Salmon has announced a redundancy consultation that could see 18 lawyers lose their jobs.

The firm has also launched a review of its business support function, and has frozen salaries for support staff at 2008 levels.

Lawyer salaries are currently under a review with a decision expected to be made by September.

The Bristol, UK firm said that current trainees will not be affected, but 2009 and 2010 trainees have been asked to volunteer to defer their start date for 12 months, with the firm offering a cash incentive of £5,000, or $7,050.

Burges Salmon LLP is the 43rd largest law firm, by revenue, in the UK. It has offices in Bristol and London.

K&L Gates Lays Off 36 Associates, 79 Staff

Erik Even — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:15:06 +0000

The rumors were true. K&L Gates has laid off 36 associates and 79 staff.

Today, with regret, we announce a reduction in workforce involving 36 associates and 79 staff in the United States. In addition, six lawyer posts are being considered for redundancy in the London office. These reductions (including the possible reductions in London) represent 4.9% of our associate lawyers and 4.3% of our staff. Each of the affected individuals will be personally notified today and informed of transitional arrangements.

K&L Gates LLP is a US law firm with over 1700 attorneys worldwide and is ranked as the 10th largest law firm in the world.

Black Wednesday? Dewey & LeBoeuf Cutting 130

Erik Even — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:48:50 +0000

Last week we reported on rumors that Dewey & LeBoeuf would decrease its workforce.

Legal industry rumors seem to be pretty reliable!

The firm has carried out a detailed assessment of its administrative staffing needs. The firm’s management has come to the difficult but necessary conclusion that we need to eliminate a significant number of administrative staff positions in offices around the world. While reductions in force are regrettable, we are committed to taking the steps necessary to address the challenges of the current business climate and to ensure our continued success.

The firm is cutting 100 support staff in the US today. It has also announced a redundancy consultation in the UK, with 15 lawyers and 15 administrative staff targeted.

Know something about the layoffs? Send us a confidential tip!

Dewey & LeBoeuf is a white shoe law firm formed in 2007 by the merger of Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae. The firm has 24 offices in 14 countries.

Clifford Chance to Cut 115 Staffers

Erik Even — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:15:40 +0000

Clifford Chance has announced further cuts to its London office, with the Magic Circle firm set to make up to 115 business support staff redundant.

The firm started reviewing its 1,200 strong London business support staff earlier this year, with details emerging today that between 105 and 115 positions will be cut.

The job cuts, which come on top of a separate redundancy program for London lawyers that is expected to result in 80 job cuts, will affect all business support functions in London other than IT.

Clifford Chance is appointing employee representatives from functions including human resources, secretarial, mail room, building maintenance, finance, business development, and education and training departments. The representatives will communicate with staff and give feedback to the firm over the 90-day consultation period.

IT staff are subject to a separate consultation of the firm’s offshore global services center, which is expected to lead to a number of job losses and some positions being sent to India.

The firm declined to comment about cuts to its international offices.

In addition to the business support and associate job cuts, Clifford Chance is also mid-way through a wide-scale review of the firm’s partnership, which is expected to see a number of salaried and equity partners expelled.

Stone King Sewell Lays Off 16

Erik Even — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:32:11 +0000

Stone King Sewell, which employs 200 people across four offices, has made a total of 16 redundancies, including 10 staff from its Bath, UK HQ.

Workers have been told the volume of work had slowed considerably in the economic downturn.

It is believed its property team has been hit hardest, with eight out of 10 jobs eliminated

Staff were told there were no further proposed job cuts, as bosses at the firm believed actions taken now would protect it in the future.

Stone King Sewell has offices in Bath, Cambridge, Cirencester and London.

Baker & McKenzie Bribes Trainees to Delay Start Dates

Erik Even — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:48:32 +0000

Baker & McKenzie has become the latest law firm to ask its incoming trainees to postpone their start date by up to a year.

The firm’s London arm has asked for volunteers from its 2009 and 2010 intakes to defer starting their training contracts by either six or 12 months.

Those willing to defer for 12 months have been offered a financial incentive of £5,000 ($7,160). There is no incentive offered to trainees electing to postpone for six months.

The next intake of 18 trainees starting in March 2009 is unaffected by the move. September’s projected intake is 21.

Bakers, which this year made 20 UK legal stuff redundant, said that it has no plans to force trainees to defer if there are not enough volunteers.

Baker & McKenzie was founded in Chicago in 1949 by Russell Baker and John McKenzie. One of the first law firms to be truly global, it employs more than 3,900 lawyers in more than 70 offices in 38 different countries.

Allen & Overy Appoints Employee Reps for Redundancy

Erik Even — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:40:36 +0000

Allen & Overy is appointing 15 employee representatives to consult on the sweeping redundancy that is set to claim more than 200 UK jobs.

Each representative will consult with staff and communicate on their behalf for each practice area and major business unit. The practice groups that will each have a representative are: banking; corporate; international capital markets; litigation; tax and real estate; and private client and employee benefits.

Business services; business development and communications; central and risk management; know-how; library, central education and training; finance; human resources; and IT will each have one representative appointed to oversee the consultation, while legal PAs will have two.

A&O is required by UK law to appoint employee representatives to communicate with staff during the redundancy consultation.

The firm will cut support staff and fee earner numbers by 9%, with a further 47 partners set to depart the firm. Around 200 jobs are expected to go in the UK, roughly half of the job cuts globally.

Five partners in A&O’s London leveraged finance team were notified that they would be affected by the partnership restructuring.

Founded in 1930, Allen & Overy has approximately 5,500 staff and 31 offices worldwide. It is part of the Magic Circle of London-based law firms.

Don’t Want to Get Laid Off? Never Get Sick

Erik Even — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:27:10 +0000

LegalWeek reports that DLA Piper attorneys are angry that redundancy criteria include severe penalties for taking sick days.

Fee earners under consultation will be subject to six criteria… Categories, worth between 15-20 points, include: strength of relationship with clients, specialist skills, business development, cross-group work, attendance and disciplinary records.

The document has reportedly caused anger among staff, including most controversially the apparent intention to mark down staff for having been off work through illness.

The document suggests that staff under consultation will have points removed for taking sick leave in 2008 – as much five points for one day.

DLA Piper is in the middle of its second redundancy consultation since the economic meltdown began.

DLA Piper is one of the largest law firms in the world, with more than 3,700 lawyers in 28 countries and 66 offices throughout the world.

Via LegalWeek.

Hammonds to Cut 20 Partners

Erik Even — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:52:37 +0000

London’s Hammonds LLP is set to cut about 10% of its partnership.

The top 50 UK law firm is cutting up to 20 partners from its fixed share and equity ranks.

Some partners will also be affected by a de-equitization program in an attempt to deal with underperformance, especially at the top of the partnership.

The cuts, affecting the firm’s offices in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, will see corporate and real estate under the most scrutiny, with a number of partners having already left the firm. The rest of those affected are expected to leave before the end of the financial year.

In January, the firm had 186 partners, including 74 in the equity.

The move comes after the firm laid off 53 support staff and 24 fee earners as a result of a redundancy consultation launched in November.

Hammonds posted a drop in profits per equity partner of more than 9% for 2007-08, to £367,000 ($525,000). Revenue at the firm edged up 3.4% to £132 million ($188.9 million).

Hammonds’ overseas offices are located in Aosta, Milan, Rome, Turin, Brussels, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Madrid, Hong Kong and Beijing.

Trowers & Hamlins Lays Off Lawyers

Erik Even — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:48:08 +0000

Trowers & Hamlins held a second round of redundancies this week, with four jobs in the firm’s UK offices affected.

The layoffs are in the firm’s real estate team; three in the Manchester plot sales team, and one job will be cut in Exeter.

London is currently unaffected by the cutbacks.

The news comes after the firm revealed it was to scale back its headcount in the Middle East, with seven lawyers set to lose their jobs.

Dubai has taken the biggest hit in the cuts, with five fee earners laid off, while the firm’s offices in Riyadh and Muscat have each lost one lawyer. The bulk of the cuts affected the firm’s project finance practice.

The move made Trowers the first law firm to officially make redundancies in the Middle East as a result of the global economic meltdown.

Globally, Trowers has 418 fee earners, with 40 fee earners in the firm’s Manchester office and 20 in the Exeter office.

Trowers & Hamlins is a mid-sized UK law firm based in the City of London. It is considered a leading firm in the field of social housing law, and also a leading law firm in the Middle East.

In 2007, the firm was #40 on The Sunday Times list of “100 Best Companies to Work For.”

Update: Linklaters Makes 30 Redundant

Erik Even — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:42:05 +0000

Final details of Linklaters’ “New World” are starting to emerge, with 14 associates in the firm’s banking practice and 16 in corporate selected for redundancy.

The firm started informing those affected this week.

Around 30 lawyers in capital markets appear to be facing layoffs, while specialist corporate areas could see 13 jobs lost.

Linklaters’ redundancy consultation puts 270 staff at risk in total, with up to 120 lawyers, 40 secretaries and 95 business support staff at risk. All those affected are this week entering into one-to-one consultations with partners and HR.

Linklaters has 26 offices in 19 countries, and is one of the five members of the so-called “Magic Circle” of prominent UK law firms.

Thring Townsend to Cut 20 Staff

Erik Even — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:47:58 +0000

Bath & Swindon, UK-based Thring Townsend Lee & Pembertons has begun a 30-day period of consultation with employees across its offices.

The firm plans to close branches in Cirencester and Marlborough, and move all staff from the two towns into its offices in Swindon.

Managing partner Thomas Sheppard said the cutbacks were the “only option” to protect the majority of its 380 staff.

Thring Townsend also has offices in Bristol and London.

The redundancies will be made across all levels of the business, which specializes in the private client, agriculture and commercial sectors.