The first wave of public cutbacks have emerged from the Paris legal market with US firm Coudert Brothers and HSD Ernst & Young (HSD E&Y) both shedding local lawyers.

Senior figures at Couderts have confirmed to Legal Week that 10 lawyers are to lose their jobs as part of a series of cutbacks in response to the slowdown in the French legal market. HSD E&Y sources, meanwhile, have indicated that as many as 20 lawyers could go from its 1,000-lawyer French operation as part of a performance review.