CMS Cameron McKenna (CMS UK) and Dundas & Wilson have jointly cut 60 support staff roles following a consultation ahead of their merger.

The firms placed all 60 roles at risk last month prior to their combination, which is set to go live tomorrow (1 May). Of these, 40 support jobs at Dundas & Wilson have been affected, while CMS UK has lost 20 business services roles at the firm and at third party suppliers Integreon, Initial and Xerox.

A spokeswoman for CMS UK said: "There has been considerable work going on as we prepare for the combination of CMS with Dundas & Wilson on the 1 May. With any combination it is regrettably to be expected that there are some duplication of roles resulting in redundancy.

"While there is no reduction in the number of lawyers, we can confirm that as we anticipated about 60 support roles have been made redundant with two thirds of those roles within Dundas & Wilson and one third within CMS and its third party suppliers."

The firm did not disclose which offices have been affected. The news comes as Dundas closes its Aberdeen and London offices, with partners moving into CMS UK's offices over the weekend immediately after the tie-up takes effect.

CMS UK already has offices in Aberdeen and Edinburgh, established 20 and 15 years ago respectively. The merger has also given the firm a base in Glasgow, where Dundas runs a paralegal-led legal services unit which aims to cut client costs by taking on routine work.

Separately it has emerged that former Dundas chairman and managing partner David Hardie has resurfaced as a non-executive director of Murray International, a FTSE 250-listed investment trust.

In a statement to the Stock Exchange yesterday (29 April), Murrary International said Hardie would be joining on 1 May. Hardie, who is also head of venture philanthropy at Inspiring Scotland, left Dundas in January, after deciding not to join the merged entity.