Bakers cuts staff in Kiev and Moscow as firms retrench in CEE and CIS
Baker & McKenzie is cutting jobs in the CIS in what is expected to reflect a wider trend in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region and former Soviet states as law firms retrench.Around eight staff members have been laid off in Bakers' Kiev office, including three associates. Three associates were also made redundant in Moscow.Bakers has a longstanding presence in the region, with around 125 lawyers in Moscow and around 75 in Kiev.
February 25, 2009 at 11:49 PM
3 minute read
CEE region hit as law firms slash jobs with Poland, Ukraine and Moscow affected
Baker & McKenzie is cutting jobs in the CIS in what is expected to reflect a wider trend in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region and former Soviet states as law firms retrench.
Around eight staff members have been laid off in Bakers' Kiev office, including three associates. Three associates were also made redundant in Moscow.
Bakers has a longstanding presence in the region, with around 125 lawyers in Moscow and around 75 in Kiev.
The CEE region has also been badly hit by the global financial crisis, with many law firms making cuts to major economies in the region.
German practice Beiten Burkhardt has cut down its Ukraine offering, while in Poland Linklaters' Warsaw arm has decreased in size by around 10 lawyers in the last six months, including two partners.
A four-lawyer group, including tax partner Mariusz Aleksandrowicz and two managing associates, this month followed Linklaters' Warsaw head Tadeusz Komosa in joining independent practice Furtek Komosa Aleksandrowicz, which launched on 2 February.
Commenting on the Polish losses, one former Linklaters lawyer said that the recent departures were a reaction to the London firm's decision in 2008 to close four of its CEE offices. He commented: "Lawyers thought: 'we are here now, but maybe not for long'. This is not to do with the 'New World' headcount cut, which emerged later."
Allen & Overy (A&O) has meanwhile confirmed that there will be significant job losses in the CEE region as part of the firmwide restructuring it announced last week/
A&O and Furtek Komosa Aleksandrowicz are both among law firms that Polish banks have turned to for advice on the effects of the troubled zloty. The Polish Government has stepped in to try to find policy responses to head off the currency's slide.
A&O CEE managing partner Jane Townsend said: "The Polish Government is debating hedging contracts, meaning banks could not enforce hedging with corporates. This is worrying for banks as Polish companies are hedged one way – against the currency going up."
In Ukraine, CMS Cameron McKenna Kiev head Adam Mycyk said the currency fall has also negatively affected legal fees as it bills local clients in grivna.
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