National firm Addleshaw Goddard has made 24 fee-earners redundant following a two-month consultation.

Jobs will be affected at the firm's three UK offices – in London, Leeds and Manchester - and in Singapore.

The firm blamed the job losses on a declining rate of natural attrition; the proportion of senior fee-earners, particularly those with seven or more years' PQE, has steadily increased, while other levels have fallen, the firm said. Over the five years ended 30 April 2012, total fee-earner numbers fell from 490 to 437, but in its two most senior fee-earner categories, excluding partners, the total grew from 100 to 173.

Managing partner Paul Devitt said: ‘We took the difficult decision, having previously avoided a fee-earner redundancy programme, to rebalance the shape and size of our frontline fee-earner resource to ensure that it is a better fit for our business and more appropriately supports our long-term strength and competitiveness.

‘It has, of course, been a difficult period for those affected by the consultation and we thank them for their understanding and great professionalism. We wish them well.’