Stephenson Harwood has cut 27 secretarial jobs following a consultation.

The consultation followed an internal review of its London secretarial and document production services, with the firm deciding on a "significant reorganisation" of the operations. 

Meanwhile, DWF has launched a consultation which threatens 21 business services jobs.

Stephenson Harwood chief executive Sharon White said: "We can confirm that the London secretarial review period has come to an end, the aim of which was to provide a more efficient and cost effective secretarial service to our fee earners.

"As a result, unfortunately we have had to make 27 secretaries redundant. All secretaries have now been informed. We wish all of those not staying with Stephenson Harwood the best in their future careers."

The firm declined to comment on how many roles were initially placed under consultation or the types of packages offered to staff asked to leave.

Stephenson Harwood's limited liability partnership accounts for 2012-13 show the firm had an average of 180 support staff, growing from 173 the previous year.

DWF's consultation will involve 21 business services positions in its finance department, with staff in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester set to be affected.

DWF managing partner Andrew Leaitherland said: "It is with real regret for the individuals concerned that we have started a consultation about a proposed restructure of our finance team[.]

"This follows the integration of five legacy accounting systems over the last 18 months, which has led to a reduction in the number of people needed to run those systems, as well as continued centralisation of our finance operations so that we can deliver a more efficient and effective client service.

"We will of course do everything we can to minimise the number of people affected and to support them should they need to find another role."

The northwest firm has undergone a rapid run of merger deals in the past two years, having combined with Crutes, Buller Jeffries, Biggart Baillie and Fishburns as well as the pre-pack acquisition of collapsed firm Cobbetts last year.

Other firms recently announcing job cuts include Ince & Co, which last month confirmed a redundancy round that will affect up to 10 fee earners from the firm's insurance and shipping practices and six business services roles.