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50 Face Axe in Howard Kennedy Redundancy Plan
Legal Week
June 23, 2008
Howard Kennedy has launched a redundancy consultation that could affect up to 20 fee earners.
The 30-day consultation was kicked off Thursday and will see up to 20 fee earners involved in the process alongside as many as 30 further staff in support roles.
The review will be carried out across all departments of the firm but property could be most at risk given the slowdown in the market.
Commenting on the news, property partner Paul Springall told Legal Week: "This is pretty grim and sad news but it is driven by the economic reality. A formal redundancy consultation was launched yesterday and will close on 18 July."
The news comes after the firm saw its six-partner media team break up on Tuesday, with partners Susan Aslan, Sue Charles and Hakan Kousetta quitting the firm to launch their own specialist media boutique, Aslan Charles Kousetta.
Fellow partners Leighton Lloyd and Justin Stephenson have also both joined other firms, with remaining partner Brian Eagles switching over to sit in Howard Kennedy’s corporate practice.
Howard Kennedy joins firms including McGrigors, Bevan Brittan, Halliwells, Challinors and TLT in announcing redundancy consultations in recent weeks.
News of the redundancy consultation follows two negligence claims against the firm, revealed by Legal Week in May and November of last year, for 2.4 million pounds ($4.7 million) and 1.7 million pounds ($3.4 million) respectively. Both related to advice the company gave clients in regard to property deals.
The firm turned to Berrymans Lace Mawer for advice on both occasions.
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