Mishcons lays off 17 after consultation

West End firm Mishcon de Reya is to cut 17 from its staff base, including two partners, following a redundancy consultation launched last December.

The firm confirmed that it was dropping a salaried partner from its real estate practice and one from its corporate practice, both of which have been adversely affected by the credit crunch.

It is understood that the firm has temporarily put on hold growth plans while it steers through the economic downturn.

Mishcon had been through a sustained period of growth and reported a 70 per cent rise in average profit per equity partner (PEP) at the 2006-07 year end, up to £698,000 from £411,000 at 2005-06 year end.

By the end of the 2007-08 year, however, growth had slowed with PEP rising 1.7 per cent to £710,000. According to managing partner Kevin Gold that was because the partnership had opted to be prudent and put cash aside for investment.

In July he told The Lawyer: "The PEP figure would have been £730,000, but we've decided to hold back because we want to make a substantial investment in a new office building and to also show that the underlying business can be sustained at that level." (The Lawyer, 28 July).

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