Up to 15 lawyers in CMS’ London real estate team could lose their jobs as the firm looks to cut costs for a second time in 16 months.
It is understood that no partners will be affected in the redundancy round.
‘The UK real estate practice group is currently undergoing a review within our London office. We are in discussions with those affected and cannot comment further at this stage,’ a firm spokesperson said.
CMS previously made cuts in September 2023, resulting in up to 19 lawyers in the firm’s corporate department losing their roles.
Stephen Millar, managing partner at CMS UK, discussed the firm’s financial results with Legal Business in August, stating: ‘Given the various headwinds and a quieter transaction market that hasn’t rebounded as quickly as anticipated, we’re pleased with our achievements.’
The firm employs more than 1600 lawyers in its London office and around 700 real estate lawyers globally. It reported global revenue of £1.7bn in its most recent financial results, a 7% increase from the previous year’s total of £1.59bn. PEP, however, was down 4% from last year’s estimated £771,000 to £741,559.
The global real estate market has suffered from a higher interest rate environment in recent years. However, a recent survey of European real estate leaders conducted by PwC revealed a more optimistic outlook for the year ahead with 85% of those polled expecting business confidence and profits to stay the same or rise in 2025.