Plans by magic circle firm Freshfields to keep pace with a ‘fast-changing legal market’ could see up to 20 paralegals at the firm's Manchester office made redundant.
Following reports that Freshfields has commenced a redundancy process, a spokesperson said: ‘We’re proposing to continue evolving our business to keep pace with a fast-changing legal market - investing in technology, building key skills in-house and adapting our model to meet future client needs. We have communicated with our colleagues affected by these proposals and are focused on supporting our teams throughout.’
The Gazette understands less than 20 people are affected.
Freshfields, which is headquartered in London, opened a legal and business services centre in Manchester in 2015, which involved relocating back-office services from the capital to an office in Arndale House. Later that year, the firm signed a lease for bigger office space at One New Bailey in Salford. According to an announcement at the time by One New Bailey welcoming its new tenant, the firm relocated 700 staff.
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