Hill Dickinson has cut 40 fee earner and support jobs from its counter fraud group after a consultation launched in July found significant restructuring was needed.

The redundancies, all of which were voluntary, include 25 fee earners and 15 secretaries. Of the fee earners, 16 are solicitors and ten are paralegals. Two further roles – one associate and one legal assistant – have been redeployed.

The redundancies mark the second round of staff cuts in two years for the firm, which shed a total of 83 roles last July, including 14 partners.

Managing partner Peter Jackson (pictured), said: "It is regrettable that we are losing colleagues from the team and we thank them for their hard work and commitment. The counter fraud market has undergone significant changes, which have required a restructure of the business model to ensure we remain aligned to our clients' evolving requirements."

The consultation period, which began on 21 July, originally put only 39 counter fraud group jobs up for redundancy, despite the volume of instructions for the team growing 15% over the past year, according to the firm.

Jackson, however, told Legal Week that pricing models and processes have changed, requiring changes in the make up of staff.

Earlier this year, DWF also launched a redundancy consultation for its fraud group, with up to 37 jobs at risk in its Liverpool-based team.