Wragge & Co has unveiled its 2008-09 financial results and announced a second redundancy round set to affect up to 85 people.

The national firm has reported a 17% drop in turnover for the last financial year, with revenues falling from £125.6m in 2007-08 to £104.3m. The firm is yet to finalise its average profits per equity partner, but early indications suggest a dip of around 30% from last year's figure of £483,000.

The firm cited employment, pensions and projects as good performers but said that real estate was down and that litigation had not taken off as expected.

Wragges has also launched a redundancy consultation that could see up to 85 people lose their jobs, with the cuts expected to be evenly split between fee earners, support staff and secretaries. All practices in the firm's Birmingham and London offices are likely to be affected by the 30-day consultation.

However, Wragges hopes most of those involved in the consultation will stay with the firm, with positions saved through other cost-saving measures under consideration such as four-day weeks, sabbaticals, unpaid leave, job-sharing, career breaks and extended maternity and paternity leave.

Staff remaining with Wragges will see their salaries frozen while newly-qualified rates are dropping from £63,000 to £57,000 in London and from £41,000 to £36,500 in Birmingham.

Wragges senior partner Quentin Poole said that with less money coming into the business, the firm would have to find ways to reduce costs but redundancies, although a possibility, would be a last resort.

He told Legal Week: "This is a redundancy consultation, but we regard redundancies as a last resort and we are working with all of our people from now to find innovative and creative ways to find other solutions such as sabbaticals and four-day weeks. This will not be something imposed through a top-down approach but will be based on the ideas of each practice group and what works for them."

The firm has also announced its partner promotions for 2009, promoting regulatory litigation lawyer Andrew Litchfield and corporate recovery specialist Vicki Conway to its 112-strong all-equity partnership as of 1 May.

Meanwhile, Andrew Harrison, Andrew Lawton Smith and Ian Yule have all retired from the partnership, with Lawton Smith set to remain at the firm as a consultant.

In September last year Wragges made 24 fee earners redundant following its first consultation. Thirty roles were placed under review, with 12 staff ultimately taking voluntary redundancy.

A managing partner at a rival firm commented: "These results are not surprising. Wragges generates a significant amount of turnover out of London and had a big exposure in commercial property."