Top-50 firm Hill Dickinson has confirmed 83 job losses as a result of a restructure of the business.
In a statement today, the international firm confirmed 14 redundancies at partner level and 69 job cuts among other employees. A total of thirty-nine employees are subject to compulsory redundancy, with the remainder accepting a voluntary settlement.
The decision follows an announcement in April that the firm would review its range of services and business model in response to market conditions.
The firm posted a 2.5% increase in turnover in 2012/13 but crucially profit per equity partner fell 15%, from £312,000 to £264,000.
Yesterday it was announced that the Hill Dickinson Chester office had been sold to private equity-backed firm Knights Solicitors.
Senior partner David Wareing said the decision was essential to ensure the future of the business in a tough market.
‘We have a strong and sustainable business and indeed many of our teams recorded revenue growth in the last financial year,’ he said.
‘Inevitably however we have been affected like all our competitors by the difficult trading conditions which presently exist in our regional centres and accordingly it has been necessary for us to proactively manage the business to ensure the stability of the firm as a whole and to enable us to continue to further invest in the business in the future.’
Wareing said the firm will press ahead with expansion both in the UK and internationally in line with areas of growth.
He added: ‘Hill Dickinson is – and will continue to be – a major force in the provision of legal services both in the UK and internationally and we are committed to our plans for the further development of the business.’
The firm has domestic offices in London, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield, plus bases in Monaco, Singapore and Greece. There has been no confirmation on which offices will suffer redundancies.
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