02-05-2025
Law firm BCLP to lay off some US, UK staffers
May 2 (Reuters) - International law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner said Friday that it plans to cut about 8% of its professional staff.
The firm said the planned cuts are focused on its business services employees, a group that includes paralegals, administrative support staff and other primarily non-attorney roles. They mainly will affect staff in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to a spokesperson.
BCLP in a statement said it is moving to streamline its business operations and "appropriately reshape teams as we continue to support BCLP's growth and client focus."
The firm has experienced declines in revenue since its creation by a 2018 transatlantic merger between St. Louis-based Bryan Cave and London's Berwin Leighton Paisner.
Its top line increased by 2.3% to about $859.6 million in 2024 from 2023, according to figures reported by the American Lawyer -- still below its revenue in the year following the merger. The firm's attorney head count has also decreased in those years, the data show.
Trevor Varnes, who was appointed global chief operating officer on April 1, in a statement said the firm is investing in technology in a push to modernize.
A spokesperson declined to say how many business staffers the firm employs or exactly how many individuals would be affected. BCLP has more than 1,200 lawyers in 31 offices globally, according to its website. Large law firms typically employ similar numbers of professional staff as attorneys.
BCLP also cut 47 professionals in May 2023 and about 50 employees in March 2024, when some other large law firms were also making cuts.
The U.S. legal sector has been steadily adding jobs since August 2024, despite a drop in February, according to U.S. Labor Department data released on Friday.
U.S. job growth in the overall labor market slowed marginally in April, but the outlook for the labor market is increasingly darkening as President Donald Trump's protectionist trade policy heightens economic uncertainty.
The Labor Department data released on Friday helped temper recession fears, although it is too early for the labor market to show the impact of Trump's on-and-off again tariff policy.
