Herbert Smith set to lay off 51 in London

Herbert Smith has announced plans to lay off 51 people London, and has commenced a 30 day consultation to carry out the cuts. The biggest cuts will take place in the corporate practice, which will lose 23 associates, and up to 19 personal assistants and five real estate lawyers will also find themselves out of a job. Herbert Smith managing partner David Willis said: “We need to ensure our London office resources are in step with current and anticipated work levels, and allow us to deliver a level of performance consistent with our strategic goals. “It’s been a difficult decision which we’ve taken reluctantly and after much deliberation. We’ve waited in the hope that conditions in transactional markets would improve - but against a backdrop of continuing uncertainties in these markets, we believe now’s the right time to address the issue." The last time Herbert Smith conducted a redundancy consultation was in 2009 when the firm cut 84 staff in London by offering voluntary redundancies.

Herbert Smith set to lay off 51 in London thelawyer.com Mon, Apr 30, 2012