Clifford Chance, the world’s largest law firm, plans to cut almost a 10th of its rank and file lawyers in London.

It is the first big sign that the international financial turmoil has finally halted the industry’s long boom. The depth of the cuts shows how leading firms have started to suffer knock-on effects from their multinational clients’ woes, despite a sharp rise in work in crisis-related areas such as corporate insolvency and restructuring.

Other members of the 'Magic Circle' of leading firms have announced only minimal redundancies, but many observers outside the industry expect this to change soon.

Financial Times