“Rethinking the way we work”
Baker McKenzie is preparing to cut roles across its business services team, with the City firm citing increased reliance on AI as one of the factors in the decision.
Baker McKenzie did not confirm the exact number affected, but legal cheek We understand that less than 10%, or approximately 600 positions, within the company’s global business services team may be affected, including marketing and secretarial support.
A company spokesperson explained that some roles will be “phased out” and others will “evolve” as part of a broader restructuring aimed at reshaping how business support functions operate across the company.
“To position our company for continued growth and remain agile in a rapidly evolving business environment, we recently carefully reviewed our business professional capabilities,” the spokesperson said. “This review aimed to rethink the way we work, including using AI, introducing efficiencies and investing in roles that best serve our clients’ needs.”
The spokesperson continued:
“Following the review, like many other organizations, we are proposing a series of changes to the way we operate and deliver our key business services. Some roles are likely to be phased out, while others will evolve, following consultation processes in applicable jurisdictions. We did not take these proposed changes lightly, but we feel they are necessary to deliver on our long-term plans, and we appreciate the valuable contributions that our affected colleagues have made to our organization and will continue to support them.”
Baker McKenzie is one of a growing number of companies to announce cuts in legal support roles in recent months. Back in November, legal cheek We reported on Clifford Chance’s plans to cut around 50 support roles in London and change a further 35 roles due to increased use of AI and reduced demand for certain business services. Freshfields and Irwin Mitchell also announced redundancies affecting paralegals.
The move comes amid broader technological changes across the legal sector, with more companies adopting AI-powered tools for tasks such as documentation, research and workflow automation.
