Freshfields is cutting paralegal roles in its Manchester office, the lower-cost base it set up in 2015.
The firm said it is "evolving its business" and "investing in technology, building key skills in-house and adapting our model to meet future client needs.”
Freshfields is cutting a number of paralegal roles in its Manchester hub, in the latest sign of how large law firms are rethinking support functions.
Fewer than 20 roles are understood to be affected. The cuts were first reported by RollOnFriday.
In a statement, a spokesperson said the firm is "continuing to evolve our business to keep pace with a fast-changing legal market - investing in technology, building key skills in-house and adapting our model to meet future client needs." They added that impacted staff had been informed and the firm is "focused on supporting our teams throughout."
Manchester hub
Freshfields opened in Manchester in 2015, a lower-cost hub focused on higher volume, more commoditised work. The base is now thought to house more than 350 people, including legal services staff as well as HR, IT, marketing and business development teams.
Growing trend
The move comes as a growing number of firms have made moves to reshape their support functions, in response to AI and a push towards more efficient operations.
DWF placed 108 staff at risk earlier this year in a consultation targeting business services, while BCLP launched a redundancy round in May that hit about 8% of its global business services workforce as part of a broader "Business Modernisation Program" aimed at reshaping its operational teams and investing in new technology.
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