Stephenson Harwood sheds staff after review as DLA swipes office in Madrid

STRATEGY: future of foreign offices, partnership pay and structure under scrutiny

Five partners, seven assistants and 20 support staff are to leave City firm Stephenson Harwood (SH) as part of a strategy review that comes hot on the heels of the announcement last week that DLA is taking over the firm's profitable Madrid office.

An SH spokesman said the redundancies would leave the firm with the 'right resources for the future', quashing speculation that more could follow.

He declined to say which departments the redundancies would affect.

The strategy review - to be completed by the end of the year - will also consider the future of the firm's other foreign offices, partnership pay and incentives, and the management structure.

Following SH's merger with Sinclair Roche & Temperley in May this year, the combined firm has foreign offices in Paris, Piraeus, Bucharest, Singapore, Hong Kong and affiliate offices in mainland China.

The spokesman said the Asian offices were an integral part of the firm's shipping finance and litigation work, and reflected the firm's continuing interest in China, while in Europe, the Paris office was fully integrated into the firm's asset finance capability.

Of Bucharest's future, he said: 'Romania is a business we're learning about as we go along.'

The firm's 13-member partnership council will be reduced under the review, and take on the character of a non-executive board under the chief executive and chairman.

Chief executive John Pike said that 'difficult and decisive action' was called for as a result of the downturn and a poor outlook for 2003.

He said: 'It is time to accelerate change and drive it deeper and faster through the organisation.'

DLA announced it had acquired Stephenson Harwood's five-partner, 18-assistant strong Madrid practice last week.

The office will continue to be run by managing partner Kenneth Bonavia.

DLA already has an associate office in Barcelona through its D&P international network - Brugueras Garcia-Bragado Molinero - and the firm said the new office is in line with the firm's strategy to be a 'top-five, full-service European law firm' within the next five years.

Mr Bonavia said: 'This is a unique and tremendously exciting opportunity for me.

I have been impressed with DLA's commitment to Europe and its vision for the future of the firm.'

Jeremy Fleming