Large-scale redundancies on the cards at law firm DLA Piper

LAW firm DLA Piper is to begin a redundancy consultation programme with more than 250 lawyers and back office staff in a move that will affect its Birmingham office.

The consultations will involve around 10% of the firm’s UK staff, it is understood.

The firm is looking for a buyer for its defendant insurance practice, which is largely based across its Birmingham and Sheffield offices. The 50-strong practice comprises four partners, 27 fee earners and 19 support staff.

It is likely to be closed if no buyer can be found.

DLA Piper’s 116-strong document production unit is to be centralised in Leeds. The firm presently has 23 staff working in the department there. They will all be included in the consultation.

Transfers to Leeds will be offered to document production unit staff based in the firm’s other UK offices including Birmingham, where 11 staff are affected.

DLA Piper is also to consult on the closure of its 85-person Glasgow office.

A spokesperson for DLA Piper said: “Following a comprehensive review of our UK business designed to ensure that we are operating in a manner, in the locations, and across the practice areas that support both our strategic objectives and the needs of our clients, we have begun a period of consultation in the UK that will consider the possible closure of our Glasgow office, the closure or divestment of our defendant insurance practice and the consolidation into one location of our current multi-site document production unit.”

The consultation will begin on November 28 and is expected to be completed in the new year.

DLA Piper is the largest law firm in the world measured by number of lawyers. It has 77 offices across 31 countries.