It was only a few months ago that mega firm Dentons — we’re talking 10k attorneys worldwide — announced two of their UK offices (Watford and Aberdeen) would be shut down permanently. Employees were allowed to permanently work from home, with the option to travel to other offices (at least two hours away by train) if they choose.
Now, according to Legal Cheek, the firm is engaged in a “redundancy exercise” in the UK that could see up to 24 attorney jobs in London, Milton Keynes, and Glasgow lost. The firm noted that the cuts would be mitigated by the creation of “virtual roles,” that would be in its energy, transport and infrastructure, and non-contentious construction teams. Like the closure of the other UK offices, this move is part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in remote work as a result.
UKME CEO Jeremy Cohen commented: “Considering transformational shifts in the delivery of services sometimes means having to make proposals that, while focused on the need to build a sustainable long-term business, may regrettably impact the lives of some of our colleagues and cause uncertainty.”
He continued:
“The processes themselves are also never easy for our staff and we know that the consultation exercise in these practices will understandably cause a degree of uncertainty for some. We are very focused on supporting all potentially impacted colleagues throughout this process, and our priority now is to work towards providing them with clarity, and removing any uncertainty as soon as possible.”
Good luck to all those that now find their jobs in jeopardy during this difficult time.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).