Magic circle law firm Clifford Chance has confirmed a significant restructuring of its London business services team, putting dozens of roles at risk of redundancy. The move, driven by increased adoption of artificial intelligence and shifting work to international hubs, signals a wider transformation within the UK legal sector.
The Scale of the Restructuring
According to an internal announcement reported by the Financial Times, the firm is preparing to cut approximately 10 per cent of its 550 London-based business services employees. This translates to around 55 jobs being made redundant. The firm informed its staff of the proposed changes last month, with the final redundancies not expected to take effect until January 2026.
The timing of the announcement, coming in the run-up to the Christmas period, has reportedly caused discontent among affected employees. This restructuring coincides with a period of strong financial performance for the firm. Clifford Chance reported a £2.4 billion revenue for the fiscal year ending 2025, a 9 per cent increase from the previous year. This success filtered down to its equity partners, who each pocketed over £2.1 million.
AI and Global Hubs: The Drivers of Change
The primary reasons cited for the job cuts are the firm's greater use of AI technology and a strategic shift of certain services to more cost-effective hubs abroad, such as those in Poland and India. Clifford Chance's main AI providers are confirmed to be Microsoft Copilot and Azure OpenAI.
A spokesperson for Clifford Chance stated that the proposed changes are "in line with our strategy to strengthen our operations." They added, "The proposed changes could see the creation of new roles, changes to the scope of roles, revised team structures, and in some cases a reduction in roles."
A Broader Trend in the Legal Industry
This move by Clifford Chance is not an isolated incident. The surge of AI integration is placing many business service and junior positions across the legal industry in jeopardy.
Over the past year, other major UK law firms have initiated similar actions. Mishcon de Reya began redundancy consultations as it moved some positions to cheaper hubs, while BCLP (Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner) also conducted a redundancy round within its business services department, explicitly quoting AI as the driving factor.
This trend underscores a pivotal moment for the legal profession, where technological efficiency and global resourcing are fundamentally reshaping traditional operational models and workforce requirements in London and beyond.
