Pittsburgh-based Reed Smith is to cut 66 jobs from its offices in the US and UK, which the firm says is part of its ‘connectivity initiative’ designed to modernize its business.
The firm employs 1500 lawyers in 30 offices in the US, UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia.
The firm said that it expects 44 legal secretaries in the U.S. and a further 22 in the U.K. to take part in voluntary redundancy programmes with enhanced severance packages.
The initiative from the firm is designed to ‘re-imagine’ and streamline the firm’s administration roles that would see executive assistants replace legal secretaries.
A spokesperson for the firm said in a statement: “In June 2021, recognising that some of our secretaries may lack interest in the EA role, we offered a voluntary separation program to all legal secretaries in the US and a voluntary severance program for all legal secretaries in the UK, with an enhanced severance package.
“This process has now concluded. Following the firm’s acceptance of their requests to participate in voluntary separation and voluntary severance programmes, we expect 44 individuals in the US and 22 individuals in the UK to take part in the respective programmes. We are grateful for the contributions they have all made to the firm.
