So it’s blue Monday for the profession… Addleshaw Goddard is the latest firm to have launched a redundancy consultation – 85 staff are at risk. The firm is also implementing a salary freeze until 2010. It is understood that fee earners will not be affected by the redundancies – the cuts will be made amongst the firm’s business services and secretarial staff. The firm is also looking at flexible-working schemes including sabbaticals, unpaid holiday and reduced working hours with the aim of avoiding more cuts later on.

Simmons & Simmons’ redundancy consultation launched in February has drawn to a close with 91 members of staff laid off. The consultation anticipated that 69 staff would lose their jobs but the final tally came to 73 including 18 associates, 41 secretaries and 14 business support services staff with another 18 jobs lost to a separate consultation in business development and marketing.

Following large cuts amongst the ranks of Linklaters’ associates (with reltively generous packages by all accounts), 50  partners are to exit the partnership with a years pay following the implementation of the firm’s ‘New World’ strategy at a cost of approximately £50m. Average earnings per partner were at £1.1m in 2008.

In the US, DLA have released the following memo regarding its associate salaries: We are making an adjustment of our base associate compensation in our major markets to $145,000 (£95,000 from $160,000). In those markets where the starting compensation has been $145,000, we are adjusting it to $130,000 (£85,000). Adjustments to all associate salaries at other class levels will be determined and communicated on a case-by-case basis based on class year and performance levels.

And finally, A&O have taken another step in the cost-cutting game by closing their training contract application process early…