Big Four firm EY recently announced that it was cutting jobs from its UK legal division amid a downturn in dealmaking.
With a decrease in M&A activity, this is a trend that can be seen across the industry.
James Lavan highlighted that some firms have over-invested in certain practices, such as M&A, private equity and funds, and that they are now attempting to hold out for as long as possible before making redundancies in order to protect their reputation.
“But I think there’s only so long these things can continue for. Some people have a bigger appetite to ride out the losses … but I think [on] this side of the pond it is inevitable that there will be more [layoffs and redundancies].”
James continued that these cuts will likely be restricted to certain practice areas, however, and will not be as bad as originally anticipated.
“There’s huge growth in competition, in litigation, in tax, and we don’t see that slowing.”
Read James’ comments in Law360, here.