Almost 30 jobs are being cut at Scotland-headquartered firm Dundas & Wilson following a consultation process.
In February the firm confirmed that due to the “nature and level of demand for its services” it would be considering redundancies (24 February 2012).
While the firms mooted cutting staff and partner positions, chairman David Hardie confirmed the cuts only relate to staff at the moment.
He said: “We’re going through a process which must be seen in the context of a wider reshaping of our business and what we’re doing.
“We’ve opened the Aberdeen office, brought in a team form Stephenson Harwood on the banking side and in parts of the business we have too many heads.
“Combine that with a difficult market and people tend to stay rather than leave and we end up with too many lawyers in too many areas because of a lack of natural wastage.”
Hardie said the positions being cut are spread across the firm’s offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London and that discussions about when people leave are “bespoke” to each individual.
He added that partners’ performance is reviewed each year in a separate process.
The firm is currently being managed on an interim basis by head of performance and resources Caryn Penley, who also leads the firm’s debt, recovery and restructuring practice, and head of operational excellence Allan Wernham, who also heads the firm’s real estate team. The interim team was put in place in response to managing partner Donald Shaw stepping down part-way through his term (8 March 2012).
A new managing partner is expected to be in place by September.
Readers' comments (21)
Anonymous | 2-Apr-2012 7:45 pm
'natural wastage'?
Conjures up some interesting imagery...
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Hardingham | 3-Apr-2012 9:24 am
A classic example of how not to run a mid-firm and likely a sign that we will see increasing divergence in the market away from the middling players. Big corporates will always go to the magic circle et al for their major projects, but there will definitely be increasing room at the bottom for smaller, more canny firms to take on the work that the likes of Dundas have been getting. It doesn't take a genius client to see that the likes of Field Grieb can do some of this stuff for a fraction of the price. And how!
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Fred Glib | 3-Apr-2012 10:27 am
'The likes of Field Grieb'? The likes of WHO?
I would lay my mother's soul on Hardingham's real name being either 'Field' or 'Grieb'.
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Hardingham | 3-Apr-2012 11:49 am
@Fred Glib
Then you clearly aren't much of an expert on the South West Kent / North East Sussex legal market (excluding Tunbridge Wells)
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Anonymous | 3-Apr-2012 2:25 pm
Why no reporting of Hardie's - taking out and shooting them - comment. Staggering lack of awareness/compassion.
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Anonymous | 3-Apr-2012 3:27 pm
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/30-scots-law-jobs-face-axe.17171655 disgusting
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Anon | 3-Apr-2012 3:51 pm
A firm going nowhere at increasing speed. If they don't their act together ASAP they will be the next Halliwells.
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Mr F | 3-Apr-2012 4:20 pm
Whatever the view is on this firm, this story is awful and I feel for the people who are going to lose their jobs.
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Anonymous | 3-Apr-2012 4:27 pm
A firm led by donkeys. Used to be a proud and decent firm, now reduced to confusion and PR disasters.
"Mr Hardie said: "We are not calling it a programme. It is not one thing being done to a lot of different people. It is individual discussions with individual outcomes.""
You can call it what you like David, the result is the same.
Chairman David Hardie told The Herald: "It is not that we have taken out 30 people and shot them. It is about how can we find the best use of them for our business or do we have to let some of them go?"
A Clarkson moment.
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Anon | 3-Apr-2012 5:09 pm
Despicable, crass, short-sighted and incompetent management.
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