Law firm 'to slash wages and cut staff numbers'

One of Edinburgh's biggest law firms has said it plans to force staff to take unpaid holidays in an attempt to cut costs.

Shepherd and Wedderburn, which has 330 of its 477 UK staff in the Scottish capital, announced that it will make two legal posts and potentially up to 12 support roles redundant across its offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.

The firm said it would also reduce the pay of all partners by ten per cent without reducing hours, while it will also order all staff to take an additional ten days' leave a year without getting paid.

Patrick Andrews, chief executive of Shepherd and Wedderburn, said that the measures had not been entered into lightly.

He said: "I am confident that the measures we have announced today will allow the firm to invest in growth areas and take advantage of market opportunities, both as the economy begins to recover and beyond."

Many of the firm's clients are in the hard hit 'businesses services' sector, which has been badly impacted by the downturn in financial services.

The firm provides corporate, commercial, public sector and private clients throughout the UK and abroad with legal services.