CMS Cameron McKenna has launched a review of its business which puts 40 UK roles at risk of redundancy, including 26 lawyers.

The firm announced the review, which covers its business in the UK and CEE, to staff this morning (15 January), with the review including a proposal to cut 40 roles in the UK. The redundancy consultation started today and is expected to complete within the next 30 days.

The roles will cover a mix of legal, legal support and secretarial positions and will be spread across most of the UK business, according to the firm. The proposed cuts include 26 fee earners but the firm has not yet confirm which practices will be affected.

In addition to the UK redundancy consultation, the business review threatens an undisclosed number of roles across the firm's CEE operations. The headcount reduction in the CEE is likely to be achieved through a mix of redundancies, termination of contracts and natural attrition. CMS Cameron McKenna currently has offices in Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Kyiv, Moscow, Prague, Sofia and Warsaw in the CEE.

Managing partner, Duncan Weston, said: "Clearly this is not a decision that we take lightly but we take it in the best interests of delivering sustained, competitive success.

"There are long-term and short-term reasons for the review. In the long-term, we continue to work in an environment where law firms need to ensure that they are the right size and shape to meet the needs of business going forward. Short-term, we need to manage efficiently in what remains a tough market."

In 2010, the UK CMS arm announced that it planned to outsource its entire back office support function to Integreon, with the deal, which went live in April 2011, expected to see 33 of the UK firm's 200-strong London support staff losing their jobs, with a further 76 given the option to relocate to Bristol or India.

The firm had previously made cuts in response to the recession in 2009, with 73 London staff made redundant, including 26 fee-earners.

Figures provided by CMS in the UK for Legal Week's 2011-12 Top 50 rankings show the firm had 768 lawyers including all partners.