Eversheds has launched its second redundancy consultation this year in a move likely to affect 45 transactional fee earners.
The consultation, which began today (12 November), will focus on the firm’s M&A, finance and insurance teams and will affecting up to 45 fee earners and additional support staff across the firm’s UK 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 earlier this year (4 September). 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 top 10 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 (pictured) 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.”
He added: “Whilst regrettable, it is important to put the proposed redundancies in context. We will continue to employ 1,300 lawyers in the UK alone. We are also continuing to recruit with the recent arrival of 76 trainees and 22 additional lawyers with specific skills and capabilities in areas which are performing strongly, such as pensions, projects, antitrust and restructuring.”
The firm reported a 4% drop in turnover for the first half of the financial year, with fee income for the first half of 2008-09 standing at £188m, a decline on the £196m reported for the first six months of 2007-08.
In addition, Legal Week learned that profit distributions have been delayed in a move that will see all equity partners miss out on two quarterly payments due in November and February 2009.
Click here to comment on this article.
More news, deals and comment on Eversheds
Eversheds on the Legal Week Wiki
Bit naughty of the Shed. Put out a story to the legal titles about job losses about fee-earners but fail to mention the support staff. Finance, IT, library all being cut. Oh, and more than half of their already cut business development department now told they will lose their jobs. Mind you, they are only mortals so perhaps they don't count.
Hmmmmmmmmm, interesting turn of phrase, consultation, if you happen to be a secretary. Nicely organised so that there is no consulation for secretaries, 13 of which are to be made redundant from 24. They will be told today whom is at risk and who isn't, so guessing that 13 will be told that they are at risk today and to top it off, will face an agonising wait til 15 December for confirmation that they are to be made redundant.
Thank heavens that the partners chose to stop having pudding and wine at their partner lunches?!
“Whilst regrettable, it is important to put the proposed redundancies in context. We will continue to employ 1,300 lawyers in the UK alone. We are also continuing to recruit in areas that are performing strongly, such as pensions, projects, anti-trust and restructuring."
Yes, I'm sure that puts redundancy in context for those affected. I'm struggling to see the justification for redundancies when the company is very obviously recruiting, and apparently recruiting in the same areas of those being made redundant, just in other offices. I also understand the chief executive sent an email to everybody saying it was regrettable there were going to be redundancies, but not worry, because they are recruiting in other areas! I'm sure those affected enjoyed reading that one. What an appalling lack of judgement and terrible display of shoddy management.
It's quite clear what Eversheds mean when they say they are still recruiting 'I'm alright Jack' Don't please think there is anything wrong with the business or us-and we're far more concerned with our image than the employees we've just thrown on the scrapheap
Is this the same Eversheds that was crowing about its 'Diversity Programe' a few months back in these very pages ?
There are none so diverse as the unemployed.
My word, visions and values, I thought you talked the talk and walked the walk. I didn't realise the walk was to the dole office. Have a Happy Christmas LLP.
Well today is the day that those given the chop get shoved out of the door. Happy Christmas! It is especially heartwarming to leave behind three new recruits which sit within a couple of metres of my now empty desk. Thats right - two out, three in and that's just one department in one office! Clearly Gray didn't think about that when he talked about areas of strength being the only areas of recruitment!
Related Articles
Related Jobs
Latest Jobs
