The sun is still shining, numerous people have disappeared on holiday and multiple law firms have announced double-digit hikes in revenue and profit per equity partner (PEP).

But it hasn't all been positive news during the last week or so. Both Ashurst and Ince & Co have concluded redundancy consultations, with 54 secretarial roles set to go at Ashurst and 32 UK positions to go at Ince, as more and more firms look to reorganise their support and secretarial functions.

Meanwhile, one fee earner has been made redundant at CMS in Reading, after the firm opted to scale back its real estate management service in the office in a move that initially put seven fee earners at risk. Most opted to relocate to either Bristol or Sheffield, or took on different roles.

Elsewhere, while both Linklaters and Mishcon de Reya have posted rising revenues for 2017-18, both look to have underperformed against market peers when it comes to PEP, seeing the metric fall on last year.

Meanwhile, Freshfields has seen not one but two high-profile partner exits from its London office, despite putting in a strong financial performance last year.

The best of Legal Week over the last two weeks: