EY Law Reduces Size
EY is shaking things up in its UK legal arm. They’re cutting jobs and stepping back from their earlier plans to expand in the legal sector.
On Tuesday, EY partners broke the news to UK lawyers in a quick 12-minute call, announcing an overhaul of the legal business and the start of a redundancy consultation.
About 30 out of 160 people in EY’s UK law business will be affected by these cuts. Some jobs will move to Manchester and Belfast.
The Big Four accounting firms haven’t made the big splash in the legal market that many expected. EY’s latest move follows previous job cuts in its UK legal business.
EY’s legal arm has been shrinking. It was part of 150 job cuts in December 2023, which also hit other parts of the business.
The firm says it’s restructuring to focus on areas that align better with the broader EY business. They’ll boost capabilities in corporate law, company secretarial, tax litigation, and immigration.
EY’s legal journey began in 2014 when it got a license to operate as an alternative business structure which permitted non-lawyers to own and manage law firms.
Despite setbacks in the UK, some of the Big Four are eyeing opportunities in the US. KPMG recently got approval to practice law in Arizona, making it the first of the group to do so in the US. Presumably more will follow – but will EY be one of them at this point?
