Eversheds, the well known international law firm, has taken the decision to outsource its documentation processes to Exigent. As part of the move 95 secretarial jobs will be cut in the UK. The move follows four previous staff reductions at the firm, that is suffering as a result of the recession and severely depressed property sector.

The firm has taken the decision to offshore to cut costs after completing a pilot with Exigent at its Cambridge office. Eversheds will begin rolling it out across its UK offices between now and Christmas.

Eversheds managing partner Lee Ranson said: “The pilot was designed for us to evaluate how outsourcing works on the ground. We then went back to the business to discuss exactly how it would work across the firm. It will affect offices differently,” He added, “This is something that was taken up in other professions a long time ago. The legal profession is just starting to look at this now.”