Clifford Chance to make 80 London lawyers redundant
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Clifford Chance has begun a redundancy consultation that will lead to 70 or 80 London lawyers losing their jobs, while partners voted to significantly increase their cash contributions to the firm over the Christmas period.
Clifford Chance has begun a redundancy consultation that will lead to 70 to 80 London lawyers losing their jobs, while partners voted to significantly increase their cash contributions to the firm over the Christmas period.
Lawyers across all practice areas will be affected by the redundancy programme.
In a statement, London managing partner Jeremy Sandelson said: “We have not taken this decision lightly. However, like any other business, we have to respond to prevailing market conditions.
“Our clients and their legal services needs have undergone significant change over the past year. We need to reflect that in the London office, and that includes ensuring that our level of staffing is appropriate for today’s economic realities.
“By taking action now, we believe we will be well placed once conditions begin to improve.”
The consultation is expected to conclude in around four to five weeks. A separate review process for support staff will be held at a later date.
The London redundancies follow cuts in the firm’s New York litigation practice last year (TheLawyer.com, 14 October 2008).
Clifford Chance employs around 880 fee earners, including paralegals, in London. All of these are subject to the redundancy review.
A spokesperson said that trainees and those qualifying with the firm in March would not be affected by the consultation.
Meanwhile, the firm’s equity partners voted to increase the capital contributions made by partners at the top of the firm’s lockstep by around £100,000.
A spokesperson at the firm said: “As part of the ongoing management of the firm’s finances, our partnership recently voted in favour of an increase to equity partners’ capital contributions to match the growth in our business since the last call.
“Raising additional capital is one of a number of standard financial measures that we take from time to time to ensure that we are best placed for the long-term development of the firm globally.”
William Arthur, former head of Barclays professional practices team and now a consultant at Kerma Partners, said: “Clifford Chance are being defensive and cautious. This is an appropriate and sensible move.”
The news that partners were asked to make cash contributions was first reported by US legal blog abovethelaw.com.
For more on the Clifford Chance redundancies, read this week’s leader or our Legal Job Watchblog post.
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Readers' comments (40)
MagicCircleCorpLawyer | 8-Jan-2009 2:03 pm
Redundancy package
Let's hope the redundancy pay-off makes this slightly more palatable for those to be affected. Now watch the domino effect of this across the other Magic Circle firms.... Ominous!
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Anonymous | 8-Jan-2009 2:25 pm
CC redundancies
I don't think all MC firms are going to be affected like this. Linklaters don't have the same problems for example. CC have gone down the commodity road and have to deal with the fall out.
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Busy body | 8-Jan-2009 2:27 pm
Pay scales
If they just halved the money they paid to their associates then none of them would have to be made redundant. I guess that doesn't deal with the issue of them having nothing to do though....
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Anonymous | 8-Jan-2009 2:49 pm
Dead Wood
Clifford Chance has never operated as a "lean machine." They have huge numbers of business staff in the London office sitting around doing the absolute bare minimum. A lot of these staff members have also been with the firm for many many years and have been carried along. Surprising really, you would think CC to be a more dynamic environment.
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Anonymous | 8-Jan-2009 3:37 pm
This is just the beginning...
How long will it be before other City firms start making similar size redundancies? So far we have generally only seen a limited number of job cuts made by small mid size firms who won't be consulting hundreds of people. Clifford Chance is brave to be the first- it won't be the last.
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Clifford Overy | 8-Jan-2009 3:50 pm
Re: This is just the beginning
Couldn't agree more. Magic circle firms have been reluctant to make the redundancies they have wanted to because of the negative PR implications. Now that CC has broken that taboo, the others will breathe a sigh of relief and do the same.
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Me | 8-Jan-2009 3:51 pm
Tough love
A bummer for everyone at the firm but in the long run this is probably more less painful than a year of redundancies dressed up as performance reviews, as elsewhere in the magic circle...
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Anonymous | 8-Jan-2009 3:57 pm
Clifford Crunch
I agree with the Business Support services comment. There seems to be one secretary for every two fee earners, too many line managers and a high number of temporary staff brought in to do work which perm staff could and should be doing.
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Anonymous | 8-Jan-2009 4:06 pm
Poor management
It can only be poor management to hire excessively throughout 2005-7 then reversing gears into "performance reviews" and now redundancies. I do wonder sometimes just what is going on over there? Reminds me of the last time they did this half a decade ago...Viewed in that context, I guess no surprise there! I just feel the greatest sympathy for the associates and business staff being messed about because of poor management.
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Anonymous | 8-Jan-2009 4:21 pm
Re: Poor Management
The management of staff at CC is absolutely dreadful. Within L&DR you have a number of business support staff doing nothing and being paid very well for it. The partners walk around with their eyes shut. The most bizarre place I ever worked in!
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