EXCLUSIVE Staff blame AI as Irwin Mitchell scraps all litigation assistants

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Irwin Mitchell is axing its Litigation Assistant (LA) role, which will impact 56 staff members across its UK offices.

The firm told staff in October that the LAs would be made redundant. Sources told RollOnFriday that the announcement was delivered in a Teams call of around 15 minutes which was "sprung on staff at late notice" and left them "with many unanswered questions".

Affected staff are now in a seven-week consultation period, and will have to apply for either a team PA role or a paralegal role if they wish to stay at the firm.

Some accused the firm of using the consultation to "chop numbers down", opining that "the job description of the team PA is no different to the LA" (or very similar).

An Irwin Mitchell spokesman confirmed that while 56 LA roles are affected, "the number of people leaving the business will be a lot less due to redeployment into new roles" and that "numbers can’t be confirmed before consultation ends".

Insiders also said they were told the increased use of AI and the firm's new case management system 'Peppermint' contributed towards the decision. The fear of the robots replacing jobs is a concern across the profession. When Freshfields recently commenced a redundancy process affecting paralegals, the firm cited "a fast-changing legal market" and "investing in technology" - which many have interpreted as meaning an investment in AI.

But non-solicitors are being assailed from more than one direction - the impact of the Mazur judgment on their ability to conduct litigation may also be a factor in the cull.

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The firm's spokesman said: "Following a review of legal support we’re proposing to evolve our Litigation Assistant role into a Team PA role, moving some of the billable tasks to paralegals and planning to increase our paralegal headcount. This will improve the experience for our clients, provide clarity and consistency across roles, and provide the best legal support structure in future."

He added: "We’re committed to supporting our colleagues through any change and will continue to listen and respond to feedback through the ongoing consultations with those affected."

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Comments

How lovely to get the news just in time for Christmas.

On the bright side, at least you've got a bit of notice so you can cut down on some of the spending.

How odd it feels: a firm axing its Litigation Assistants, citing “AI”, while I’m picturing those ladder houses stacked on a slope—rooms removed and stairs gone, corridors shut off. The assistants are gone, the floors collapse under logic meant to keep them, and the house rattles with the echo of roles they’ll never fulfil.

Nothing to do with Mazur then?

Did the court say AI can conduct litigation, but humans can’t.

Saying ladder house stopped being funny about 3 months ago.

Have you ever thought about trying a joke?

Even if the AI doesn't work it will probably still be an improvement on standards!

Anonymous 09:11 - not sure it was ever funny.

Was ladder house ever funny??

You're right. It was never funny. I just wanted to throw him a bone to take the sting out of it.

Is the AI authorised to undertake litigation?

Never attend a teams call which is sprung up on you at late notice, particularly if 50 or so people have been invited. Don’t open any emails from hr. Better still stop reading all emails. Make sure they do not have your up to date postal address. Politely decline all offers of personal meetings with vague management talk type reasons. Or suddenly fall sick and have to stagger home. You can argue notice not served. Tell them you want to hear numbers not words. If you have not already done so, start dossing. Have two hour lunches. 10 cups of coffee a day. Regular walks and chats. Now is your time to enjoy yourself. You have to judge where the line is. Find out how much everyone is getting for redundancy. Accept that you’re going but enjoy winding up management. It’s funny cos they will expect you to be dutiful robots right to the end, and they do genuinely get angry when you are not.

Ps they know exactly who they are going to keep. The request to apply for the new roles is to offer a glimmer of hope so you are on your best behaviour.

Id imagine they are already making redundancy offers to individuals one by one.

If they only needed to get rid of a few people they would use performance based dismissals.

Pps this is not legal advice.

The jobs probably didn’t need to exist anyway, just using AI as an excuse.

We can replace the whole offshore legal profession with AI.

If it is as a result of Mazur the firm is reading the case entirely wrong. Non-qualified staff can still handle cases under supervision of a qualified solicitor.

Amazing how they can suddenly afford high-profile hires in a new city, yet somehow can’t find the resources to keep 56 existing staff employed before Christmas. Truly a masterclass in prioritising “growth” over the people who actually keep the place running.

How does Irwin Mitchell distinguish those undertaking menial non-legal tasks from the lawyers. It's a personal injury firm run by the superannuated remedial set.