Co-op Legal to slash half of PI workforce

Half of all staff at Co-operative Legal Services' (CLS) personal injury department are to be made redundant.

The Law Society Gazette has reported that 60 of the Co-op's 120 PI staff will be let go, with a consultation on the process to begin in January.

Staff have been told this week that their jobs are at risk due to the firm losing a large source of personal injury work last year, with not enough new claims coming in to replace the lost work.

A spokesman for the ABS told the Gazette that it was keen to consult with colleagues and that talks would be held with the Co-operative’s trade union, NACO.

Meanwhile, legal blog RollOnFriday has reported that Leeds firm Walker Morris is to close its PI department. The blog discovered that all 48 staff in the division have been told that they could lose their jobs.

Picking up the story, The Lawyer quoted Walker Morris' managing partner Ian Gilbert as having said that the significant structural changes in the PI market had led the firm to conclude "that this is not a market in which Walker Morris can differentiate itself".

The announcements from Walker Morris and Co-op come shortly after Lyons Davidson announced its own decision to shed 50 members of staff, despite its ties up with AA legal services.  

Mark Dugdale