Lovells dumps partners and de-equitises in Germany

Lovells has axed two partners and de-equitised a further four in Germany.

Sources at the firm say that further de-equitisations will follow in London before April, which is the end of the firm’s financial year. The London cuts follow an initial wave of de-equitisations in the City in late 2002, as revealed by The Lawyer (2 December 2002).

The cuts in Germany came in the wake of strategic reviews of the Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Hamburg offices.

The idea behind the review is that the three offices need to become more specialised. Many of the six partners affected and others who have decided to leave voluntarily were generalist commercial lawyers who handle relatively low value work.

Lovells declined to comment.