CMS rings in second redundancy round in 18 months

Firm to cut 15 roles in its real estate transactions practice, according to reports

CMS is embarking on a redundancy round, according to reports, its second since September 2023. 

The latest round will see the 5,800-lawyer firm cut 15 roles from its real estate transactions practice in London, as first reported by Financial News. The firm also cut up to 19 junior roles in its UK corporate practice in autumn 2023, amid a slowdown in global deal activity. 

CMS did not immediately respond to a request to comment, however a spokesperson told Financial News: “The UK real estate practice group is currently undergoing a review within our London office. We are in discussions with those affected and cannot comment further at this stage.”

News of the cuts comes despite CMS growing UK revenue 7% in 2023 to £734.7m, outperforming the firm’s global revenue growth, which stood at 5% having been 6% and 18% over the previous two years. 

The firm highlighted its real estate practice, which has more than 800 lawyers globally, as an area of high turnover growth for 2023, along with corporate/M&A, dispute resolution and tax.  

However, global profit per equity partner in 2023 fell 4% to £741.6k, according to Legal Business. 

Stephen Millar, managing partner at CMS UK, pointed to “various headwinds” and a “quieter transaction market that hasn’t rebounded as quickly as anticipated” when discussing the results with the publication last August. 

The slowdown in the global deals market following 2021’s record high saw a raft of firms cut roles alongside CMS, among them Cooley, legacy Shearman & Sterling, Goodwin Procter, Orrick and Reed Smith.

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