Baker & McKenzie has announced that it is laying off 38 lawyers and cutting 86 paralegal and professional staff positions across its North American offices, writes the Am Law Daily.

The firm cited the adverse impact of the economic downturn as the principal factor contributing to the cuts.

The announcement marks the third round of layoffs for the 3,600-laywer global firm.

In January Bakers let go of six associates in its 140-lawyer New York office. Two months later, it announced a redundancy consultation which put between 60 and 85 jobs in its London office under threat. Around 30 of those positions are expected to be lawyers, with the review expected to completed by the end of this month.

Announcing the cuts, Bakers said in a statement: "While our firm remains financially healthy overall, the current economic climate has called for unprecedented actions, and these are important steps to ensure our continued financial health and our ability to provide high-value service to our clients."

"Although we have taken timely and aggressive steps to manage costs, it recently became clear that further steps were necessary. Individuals affected will receive severance packages."

Bakers had gross revenues of nearly $2.2bn (£1.49bn) and revenue per lawyer of $605,000 (£411,550) in 2008, according to The American Lawyer's Global 100 ranking.

The Am Law Daily is the website of The American Lawyer, Legal Week's US sister title.