Clifford Chance (CC) is set to cut around 10% of its business services staff in London, as part of a strategic review of its back office support functions.
Roughly 550 roles across areas including finance, HR and IT are under review, with an estimated 50 redundancies expected, as well as role changes for up to 35 others.
In a statement, the firm said: ‘In line with our strategy to strengthen our operations, we can confirm we are proposing changes to some of our London-based business professional functions. The proposed changes could see the creation of new roles, changes to the scope of roles, revised team structures and in some cases a reduction in roles.’
The cuts are understood to be driven in part by a reduction in demand for business services support in London, as well as rising adoption of AI technologies.
The firm has expanded its support functions outside of London in recent years, following the 2018 acquisition of Carillion’s Newcastle-based operation, which is now home to around 90 paralegals.
The firm also now has around 60 staff based across Delhi and Hyderabad, and last year opened a fourth legal hub in Warsaw. In 2023 the firm created its own private AI platform, Clifford Chance Assist, and has continued to invest in AI technologies.
CC is the third-largest UK firm by revenue, with turnover up 9% in 2024-25 to a new high of £2.4bn, and profit per equity partner rising 3% to £2.11m.
It is not the only major firm making changes to its support functions. This autumn, Freshfields announced that up to 19 paralegal roles were to be made redundant in its Manchester office.
Other firms cutting jobs include BCLP, which earlier this year announced it was undergoing a ‘business modernisation programme’ that would impact approximately 8% of its workforce, while in January CMS placed up to 15 junior roles in its London real estate team under review. More recently, Irwin Mitchell last week confirmed that it is set to scrap the litigation assistant role, in a move affecting 58 staff across the UK.
