CMS, Nabarro and Olswang have confirmed that around one-third of support staff from across the UK will be lost ahead of May’s triple merger.

In January the firms began a consultation with the ‘business and secretarial teams’ at the firm. A statement today confirmed that around 300 employees would be leaving.

A spokesperson for the firms said 650 of 900 members of staff who had been affected had been offered a new role.

‘Of those leaving the majority have chosen to take voluntary redundancy and we have honoured all requests regardless of whether there was a role or not,’ the spokesperson added.

The consultation started on 16 January and concluded on 3 March. The firm said 'approximately 300 staff' would be leaving but that it will not be providing any further breakdown.

Olswang is due to merge with CMS UK and Nabarro in a deal that was finalised last year and will take effect in May.

The new firm will trade as CMS and CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP in the UK. Once the deal is finalised it will become the world’s sixth largest law firm by headcount and have a £1bn turnover, placing inside the UK’s top seven by revenue.

Meanwhile, Olswang is set to lose its former interim chief executive ahead of the imminent merger. Michael Burdon, a patent specialist, will join international firm Simmons & Simmons from 2 May.

Burdon, who joined Olswang in 2002, was briefly the interim chief executive of the firm in October 2015.

The move is another blow for the firm after international firm Dentons announced last week that it had hired a team of four Olswang patent lawyers alongside partner Justin Hill.

Rowan Freeland, head of IP at Simmons & Simmons said: 'There are a number of key issues affecting clients today, including the arrival of the Unified Patent Court later this year. Michael’s arrival adds bench strength to our IP team who continue to provide cutting-edge advice for clients. He is a highly skilled patent litigator and a really nice guy, and I look forward to working with him.'

Last month, the Gazette reported that CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang had revealed more details of the effects of the merger, including the closure of three of Olswang’s Europe-based offices.