THE former chairman of London-based law firm DWF's Australian operations says its decision to shut its Newcastle office came "out of the blue" and that he was working to save the jobs of its 20 Hunter staff.
Mark Hickey resigned as the legal and business services specialist firm's AsiaPac Australian chairman following its announcement on January 14 that it was overhauling its global structure.
On Monday, close to three years after launching offices in Newcastle, Sydney and Brisbane, DWF told the London Stock Exchange it would "rationalise" its Group Legal Advisory operations in Australia with an "orderly closure" of those operations in Newcastle, Melbourne and Sydney.
The law firm said its Brisbane office would continue to operate, while the Group's "connected services operations" (business advisory unit) in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane would be retained.
"These changes will enable a leaner Australian business to focus on institutional clients and core sectors, such as insurance, which have a stronger strategic fit for the Group," it said in a statement.
"While we expect an FY21 loss for the Australian operations of between £3m and £4m ($5.4 million to $7.2 million) ... these changes are anticipated to be earnings enhancing for the Group."
DWF's LinkedIn site advises it has almost 200 staff in Australia. The company said the office closures would cause the job losses of about 85 employees and 14 principal lawyers, or partners.
Mr Hickey, who left his former employer Sparke Helmore with five other partners to launch DWF's Newcastle office, said the first he had heard of DWF's decision to rationalise its Australian operations was on Monday.
"There was no evidence to suggest they would shut us down, it's come out of the blue," he said.
"My interests are making sure our people here are looked after because I am very close to them."
Mr Hickey said he and fellow DWF partners David Reid and Brendan Tobin were negotiating with DWF to see if the Hunter office could continue: "Nothing is certain however our clients and people are number one and we are trying to look after them."
The Australian Financial Review reported that DWF will axe two-thirds of its staff to focus on its insurance practice in Brisbane.
DWF shares rose 6.4 per cent to £0.83 after the announcement in London.
Its restructure announcement in January focused on its legal advisory arm being pared back in Australia.
Its second arm, Connected Services, specialises in claims management, costs and regulatory consulting. The third is based around alternative legal services provider Mindcrest, which provides "outsourced and process-led legal services".
