EY to cut 30 jobs in UK legal division

EY is cutting jobs in its UK legal division as part of a restructuring effort. This decision comes after the firm decided to scale back its plans to expand in the legal sector. On Tuesday, EY partners informed their UK lawyers about the changes during a quick 12-minute call. Approximately 30 out of 160 employees in the legal business will face redundancies. Some jobs will be transferred to locations in Manchester and Belfast. The Big Four firms, which include EY, Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC, had hoped to shake up the legal market when they entered it about a decade ago. However, their growth in this sector has not been as substantial as anticipated. EY has made other job cuts in the past, including shutting down EY Riverview Law and reducing staff in its Manchester office acquired in 2018. Just last December, the firm cut 150 positions, which included staff from its legal division and its strategy and transactions business. The firm currently employs around 20,000 people in the UK across various sectors, including tax, audit, and consulting. EY stated that the restructuring aims to improve its legal services in areas such as corporate law and tax litigation, but it will unfortunately lead to job losses in other parts of the legal business. EY began its legal services effort in 2014 when it received a license to operate as an alternative business structure. This new structure allowed non-lawyers to manage law practices. In recent years, EY also explored a major plan called "Project Everest" to separate its audit and consulting services globally. However, this plan was abandoned in 2023. Despite the challenges in the UK, some Big Four firms are now seeking opportunities in the US market, with KPMG recently receiving approval to practice law there.