Up to 24 lawyer positions at risk
Global behemoth Dentons has kicked off a redundancy consultation which could affect up to 24 lawyers across its UK offices — but stresses cuts will be “significantly reduced” with the creation of new “virtual roles”.
The largest law firm in the world by lawyer headcount said it was looking to create a “small number of virtual roles” in its energy, transport and infrastructure and non-contentious construction teams, as part of an ongoing shift towards remote working in response to the global pandemic. Other roles will be shifted to Scotland.
Dentons confirmed it is in the process of reviewing salaries with respect to the new virtual roles, “to ensure that they are fair and equitable”.
Virtual roles aside, the firm announced it will undertake a redundancy exercise with up to 24 roles across London, Milton Keynes and Glasgow “potentially impacted”.
UKME CEO Jeremy Cohen commented: “Considering transformational shifts in the delivery of services sometimes means having to make proposals that, while focused on the need to build a sustainable long-term business, may regrettably impact the lives of some of our colleagues and cause uncertainty.”
He continued:
“The processes themselves are also never easy for our staff and we know that the consultation exercise in these practices will understandably cause a degree of uncertainty for some. We are very focused on supporting all potentially impacted colleagues throughout this process, and our priority now is to work towards providing them with clarity, and removing any uncertainty as soon as possible.”
News of the redundancy consultation follows the firm’s decision earlier this summer to close two of its UK regional offices, in Aberdeen and Watford, with all staff due to work from home permanently.