"I cannot believe it is not on the agenda of management figures at firms of a similar size. I think what DLA is doing is fairly logical," says one UK managing partner of the news that DLA Piper is set to cut as many as 200 jobs from its business services ranks.

The firm announced the move yesterday (11 May), following a review of its business services functions, with some processes automated and others moved to a new outsourcing centre in Warsaw.

The cuts have already led to nine redundancies in the firm's German and Dutch businesses, with the subsequent cuts set to affect up to 18% of the firm's 1,100 UK non-lawyer staff.

Andrew Darwin, the firm's international chief operating officer, portrayed the cuts as "the next step in the globalisation of the firm", arguing that "the shared services sector [in Poland] is much stronger".

As you industrialise law, more and more process-driven decisions arise, as opposed to thinking about people and lives

The cuts are set to have a particular impact on the firm's operations in Yorkshire, which is already home to a support services centre and document production team, which was centralised in Leeds in 2013, following a previous review that led to 69 support staff losing their jobs. Now, 85 jobs are expected to be lost from its Yorkshire offices.

Other firms have taken similar steps in recent years, with Linklaters moving ten finance roles from Colchester to Warsaw in 2015; Baker & McKenzie, Allen & Overy and Herbert Smith Freehills investing heavily in support centres in Belfast; and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer taking 40,000 sq ft of office space in Manchester for more routine legal work.

So is DLA's move the logical next step of a growing global firm? Are other firms going to go down the same route? And do the benefits of such a move outweigh the associated costs and traumas?

Profitability drive
The job cuts at DLA are taking place in the context of a wider profitability drive at the firm, which has included moving from a focus on 15 key sectors to seven, an overhaul of its partner pay system and a 14% shrinkage in equity partner numbers during the course of the 2015-16 financial year.

One managing partner of a UK firm says: "If you look to their profits announcement, which came at their calendar year, there was reference in that to partner cuts percentage-wise; I suspect it is part of a wider cost-cutting profitability programme."

I suspect it is part of a wider cost-cutting profitability programme

In 2015-16 the firm's global revenue grew by 2.5% to $2.5bn (£1.8bn); however, its profit fell 9.2% to $605.5m (£483.5m) and 5.4% profit per equity partner growth was only achieved as a result of the 14% cut in equity partner ranks.

Many partners outside of the firm are unsurprised by DLA's efforts to boost profitability. One partner at a UK top 50 firm comments: "You can't knock it – a 14% cut may seem dramatic but if you have some bloke drawing £400,000 a year and bringing in fourpence ha'penny, then he has to go."

A partner at a US firm agrees that the move is logical: "Fundamentally, I think a lot of firms have too many support staff and, generally, there's a lot of fat at UK firms."

Bonus benefits
While DLA's move is likely to be perceived by many as a purely cost-conscious decision, Bob Gogel, chief executive of legal outsourcing company Integreon, argues that there may be more to it than that. "Fifteen years ago it was probably done largely for cost reasons but that's not enough of a reason anymore. Law firms and other professional service firms want to spend their time on their core businesses, not documents," he says.

Such moves have by no means been restricted to the legal sector, with trophy clients such as HSBC moving staff out of London, last year renting 210,000 sq ft in Birmingham.

A lot of the banks are shifting staff from London to other cities and we cannot be immune to that

"It wouldn't surprise me at all if others follow," one magic circle partner says, noting that: "A lot of the banks are shifting staff from London to other cities and we cannot be immune to that."

A UK law firm managing partner agrees that there is more to come. "I don't think it will end," he says. "You see what has happened in other sectors and how sectors react to competition, deregulation and technology. They are all pretty well tried and tested routes – it won't be any different in the legal profession, although it might take slightly longer."

Balancing act
However, the decision to cut or outsource jobs involves a careful balancing of the desire for efficiencies and cost savings with the benefits of closer working relationships, as Gateley chief executive officer Michael Ward argues.

"We feel our support teams are part of the team here and part of the service and we gain operational efficiencies from that, rather than dealing with people we rarely meet," he says. "That's our strategy and I can't see that changing in the short term."

Ward also disagrees with the idea that outsourcing is part of the inevitable march of progress. "Some firms have gone that route," he says, "but some people have struggled to outsource legal services and have taken it back in-house."

All law firms are reviewing their delivery models, efficiency and profitability

Others argue that the disadvantages of centralising support functions outweigh the benefits. "As you industrialise law, more and more process-driven decisions arise, as opposed to thinking about people and lives. We are in a partnership where those things are considered important," one UK senior partner says.

Whatever the human costs of such a move, it is clear that as the legal profession continues to globalise, firms will continue to look hard at their international networks to see where savings can be made.

One UK managing partner says: "It's almost part of normal life – all law firms are reviewing their delivery models, efficiency and profitability. That goes for every business in every sector."

While DLA's decision to cut jobs in such numbers may seem shocking, it is by no means the first firm to have made such a move and, as partners acknowledge, it will not be the last.