Leading law firm to axe staff

ONE of Scotland's leading law firms is to axe legal staff due to the downturn in the economy, it was confirmed last night.

McGrigors, which employs about 800 people across the UK, plans to cut about 40 senior associate and other lawyer posts as well as a number of support staff. Posts at partner level are not being targeted.

The firm has three offices north of the Border - in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen - as well as others in London, Manchester and the Falkland Islands. Jobs losses are expected to be across its operations in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland.

A spokesman for McGrigors, which in June was named National Law Firm of the Year by the Lawyer magazine, said: "Unfortunately, over the past 12 months it has become increasingly clear that an immediate recovery is not going to emerge, and that we are instead facing a sustained period of market uncertainty - particularly while the effects of the public sector spending review become clear.

"For this reason, we have decided to take steps to restructure the business in a way which more closely reflects client demand. I am sorry to confirm that we yesterday entered into a redundancy consultation."