BLM has begun a redundancy consultation affecting 29 Southampton staff in the latest round of job cuts for the firm.

The consultation, which covers 19 lawyers and 10 business service staff, is part of the firm's plan to move its volume motor offering from Southampton to Manchester and Liverpool.

If the 29 cuts go ahead, it will leave the firm with eight partners, 41 lawyers and 20 business services staff in Southampton.

BLM senior partner Mike Brown said: "With government reforms affecting the volume motor space, we propose to consolidate our motor centres, with the volume work in Southampton being transferred to Liverpool and Manchester.

"This is about preparing for what lies ahead and adapting our business model to make sure we're fit for the future, both for our people and our customers. Regrettably this proposal, post-consultation, could affect the positions of 29 colleagues in the firm."

This June's Queen's Speech included the Civil Liability Bill, which will introduce a new fixed tariff of compensation for whiplash injuries that it is hoped will reduce both fraudulent claims and insurance costs.

The latest consultation comes after BLM this summer cut 50 roles among its secretarial and direct support staff, with all of those leaving taking voluntary redundancy.

The firm has also recently laid off lawyers in its healthcare practice in London and Manchester, and significantly shrunk its Leeds presence with a redundancy consultation which began last November.

The firm's managing partner Gary Allison also left the firm in July, just eight months into a three-year term, while last year, eight partners resigned the firm's Southampton office.

In the firm's financial results for 2016-17, profit per equity partner rose by 21% from £192,000 to £232,000, although revenue dipped from £107.7m to £106.7m.