Taylor Wessing is to make 26 of its City secretaries redundant with all 96 secretaries in London put on notice pending a consultation.
As first revealed by RollOnFriday, the firm has not yet entered a formal consultation but expects the process to last for at least 30 days.
A statement released by UK managing partner Tim Eyles said: ‘The realisation of our strategy is dependent on us ensuring that all areas of our business are structured with a view to providing the best and most efficient service possible to our clients. The redesign of our secretarial support is driven by that focus.’
Taylor Wessing last month announced that its revenues increased by 7% annually in 2012/13 to £228m, with UK revenues up 4% to £104.5m. The firm has yet to confirm partner profits for the financial year.
Taylor Wessing joins a growing list of major UK practices to announce job cuts in recent months including DWF, Berwin Leighton Paisner and Osborne Clarke with 2013 shaping up to be the toughest legal labour market since 2009, when more than 2,000 jobs were cut in the UK. Last week Ashurst launched a wide-ranging consultation with 350 support staff in London after announcing plans to launch a ‘north-shoring’ arm in Glasgow to provide back office and legal support.
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk
