Howard Kennedy to cut 40 in new round of layoffs

The cuts are understood to mainly come in the firm's property and corporate practices, with salaried partners, fee earners and support staff all involved in the process.

The firm, which employs around 75 partners, 170 lawyers and 270 support staff cites the continuing downturn as the reason for the cuts - its second round in under a year.

A firm statement said: "Due to the continued severe downturn affecting all law firms, we have found it necessary to undertake a thorough review of our cost base. Areas where savings may be made have been identified in order to realign our capacity levels within client requirements.

"No final decisions have yet been taken and we are embarking on a redundancy consultation exercise. We very much regret having to take this step and will, of course, be offering support and guidance to all staff concerned throughout this process."

The firm was one of the first to react to worsening economic conditions last year with June's announcement that 20 fee earners and 30 support staff had been laid off. Since then the firm has completed two mergers with personal injury specialists Douglas-Mann & Co and London boutique DMA Legal.

The news follows the announcement yesterday (16 April) from Eversheds that it has kicked off its third redundancy consultation in a year, with up to 10 lawyers in the firm's real estate team facing the axe.