McDermott Will & Emery has cut 25 associates and 45 support staff in its second round of layoffs in the US.

The firm has cut the jobs from its US network after shedding 60 associates and 89 support staff in February (3 February).

In an internal memo firmwide chairman Harvey Freishtat highlighted the lag in transactional practice areas.

Freishtat said: “This is a difficult decision results from a careful review of the current and projected needs of our clients.”

Earlier this year The Lawyer reported on the firm launching a redundancy consultation in the UK and reviewing the roles of six support staff across the marketing, IT and secretarial departments (11 February).

McDermott is also encouraging associates from its 2008 class to work with community service organisations as public interest fellows.