DLA Piper has completed its second U.K. redundancy consultation, resulting in 124 layoffs.

Twenty-four fee earners and 100 support staff have been axed across the firm's U.K. offices following the consultation, which closed last week.

The figure is marginally lower than initial predictions when the firm said 140 jobs could go, with some staff opting for reduced working hours or lower pay to save jobs.

U.K. managing partner David Bradley said: "Under the circumstance we are pleased that we were able to contain the number of redundancies in the U.K., over a third of which were voluntary. We had not previously been through a process like this for the firm but it was carried out thoroughly and with great integrity on both sides."

DLA Piper's consultation, announced in February, caused controversy when details of the firm's redundancy package and criteria were leaked. Staff were angered by proposals including the apparent intention to mark down those who had been off work through illness. There were also complaints that the criteria would penalize junior staff with few opportunities to develop client links.

A similar consultation in December last year resulted in 15 fee earners and 16 support staff being made redundant in the U.K. The firm also made five fee earners in its technology, media and commercial group redundant in August 2008.

In February DLA Piper cut 80 associates in the U.S., equating to 5 percent of its U.S.-based lawyers, with the firm announcing plans to cut 54 jobs in Asia the following month.

Earlier this month, Shoosmiths announced a redundancy consultation affecting 25 fee earners and 44 support staff, while Berwin Leighton Paisner and CMS Cameron McKenna both launched redundancy consultations likely to affect around 80 staff at each of the firms' London headquarters.

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