Having secured not one but two successive major joint ventures with Admiral and then the AA, Lyons Davidson is undoubtedly the envy of many of its personal injury (PI) peers, but the South West firm has blamed the post-Jackson reforms litigation market for the latest news that it is having to make around 50 redundancies.
Just last week (5 November) the AA – touted as one of the potential game changers likely to enter the post Legal Services Act arena – announced it had secured alternative business structure (ABS) status and entered into a joint venture with Bristol-based Lyons Davidson.
AA Law, which will initially handle personal injury (PI) work and other litigation associated with car accidents suffered by AA members and customers, will start trading on 1 December, with employment and contract services likely to be added in the future.
Lyons Davidson also partnered earlier this year with leading insurer Admiral, in a venture called Admiral Law, which provides legal advice to Admiral’s core customers.
However, this week the 1200-staff firm confirmed to Legal Business that it is to make around 50 redundancies, with managing director Mark Savill commenting in a statement that ‘despite recent success in winning contracts the company had still to carry out a review as a result of the change to the litigation system.’
The statement continued: ‘The cost pressures that come from the fee and rule changes require us to operate our core personal injury work in our more efficient and economic teams around the country.
‘As a result of our success in building joint ventures and other strategic relationships we have seen a 10% growth in staff across our business this year from 1400 to over 1500 people, but the structural changes in the market unfortunately mean that we have been unable to avoid this review.’
The eight-office nationwide firm did not specify if the redundancies would affect lawyers or non fee-earners or when the process would be concluded.
This latest news comes after Roll On Friday reported in February this year that the firm made a number of its staff in its employment department redundant, including its whole employment team in Cardiff and a substantial number in Bristol.
francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk