Addleshaw Goddard axes 24 fee earners to rebalance resources

A spokesman for the firm, which has 385 employees in Leeds, said it would not reveal how many staff had lost their jobs in Yorkshire.

The spokesman said: “We operate as one firm across four offices, and for this reason we are not breaking down the redundancies by office.”

Apart from Leeds, the firm also has offices in London, Manchester and Singapore.

Paul Devitt, the firm’s managing partner, said yesterday: “We took the difficult decision, having previously avoided a fee earner redundancy programme, to rebalance the shape and size of our front-line fee earner resource to ensure that it is a better fit for our business and more appropriately supports our long-term strength and competitiveness.

“It has, of course, been a difficult period for those affected by the consultation and we thank them for their understanding and great professionalism. We wish them well.”

In a statement issued yesterday, Addleshaw Goddard said that natural attrition, especially among senior fee earners, had fallen in recent years.

The proportion of senior fee earners had steadily increased while all other levels had decreased.

Over the five years ended April 30 2012, overall fee earner numbers reduced from 490 to 437 while the two most senior fee earner categories, not including partners, collectively grew from 100 to 173.

The statement added: “Notwithstanding these redundancies, the firm has continued and will continue to add to its fee earner teams at levels and in areas where additional capacity is required.”

Addleshaw Goddard employs 1,184 staff nationwide.

Addleshaw Goddard recently announced that its fee income for the year to April 30 was £170m, a five per cent increase on the previous year.

In May 2011, Addleshaw Goddard revealed that it planned to make up to 40 staff redundant among its business services team.