More job loss prospects yesterday..
The UK law firms haven’t gone unscathed with reports yesterday that
Eversheds has launched its second redundancy consultation this year in a move likely to affect 45 transactional fee earners.
Law.com reports…
The consultation, which began Wednesday, will focus on the firm’s M&A, finance and insurance teams and will affect up to 45 fee earners and additional support staff across the firm’s U.K. offices.
Acquisitions and real estate finance have been particularly hard hit, as well as capital markets and private equity.
The firm is still in the process of an ongoing consultation in regards to its real estate group, which was launched Sept. 4. The firm has extended the deadline in a move that is set to potentially affect 33 fee earners and a number of support staff.
At the same time, the firm announced it was closing its Norwich office and merging the firm’s Norwich and Cambridge operations into one location in Cambridge.
Planning, real estate litigation and further employment expertise will be added to the Cambridge office.
Eversheds chief executive David Gray said: "In an ideal world we would have conducted both consultations at the same time. We hope we will be in a position that by acting early we will be confident that we are resourced correctly for challenging times ahead."
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202425968084
And US giant White & Case is slashing jobs on both sides of the Pond
The Lawyer (UK) reports that
White & Case is making significant layoffs across its US and UK network and is reported to be reducing its legal and non-legal headcount by around 3 per cent, resulting in the redundancy of around 70 associates in the US alone.
The Lawyer writes:
The number of lawyer job cuts in White & Case’s London office is not yet clear, although a spokesperson said: “A small number of fee earners, equating to about 2 per cent of headcount in London have been provisionally notified that they are at risk of redundancy.”
In a statement issued by the firm yesterday, firm chairman Hugh Verrier, said: “We are living in a time of unique economic challenges, and well-managed, successful businesses, including White & Case, must assess their operations in light of current market realities. We believe this is a necessary step to adjust to the global economic downturn and to ensure a strong, long-term future for the firm.”
http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=135658&d=415&h=417&f=416
Also an interesting piece yesterday by Richard Lloyd in the American Lawyer entitled..
Storm in U.K.’s Legal Market Still Gathering Strength?
He writes…
Just over six months into the current fiscal year for most English firms — most of which operate on a May 1 to April 30 fiscal year — a steady trickle of them already are reporting first half revenues. And after a spectacular 2007-08 that saw some firms report revenue increases of up to 25 percent, current gains are modest but still notable given the turmoil in world markets.
Of the Magic Circle firms, only Allen & Overy has so far formally announced its first half numbers. The firm on Friday reported that its revenues for the period were up 11 percent compared with last year, jumping from 493 million pounds ($771 million per the exchange rate as of Nov. 10) to 548 million pounds ($856 million).
In a statement, A&O’s managing partner Wim Dejonghe attributed the growth to a "flight to quality" — the best firms picking up the choicest work from a rapidly shrinking pool of assignments — and the firm’s global reach. "Business is holding up because of the investment we have made in building a multidisciplinary global firm," he said
While it’s easy to see why the idea of "flight to quality" would appeal to the Magic Circle, the results don’t completely bear the theory out. Norton Rose, a globalized City stalwart that sits just below the Magic Circle firms in scale, profitability and exposure to the choicest assignments, has been a consistent financial laggard in recent years. Its profitability and growth rates just haven’t kept pace with the rest of the market.
Full Report at
