Herbert Smith announced this week that it would not be making any compulsory redundancies after all, as 84 members of staff had put themselves forward for voluntary redundancy or alternative working arrangements.

The firm was one of the last to announce a redundancy consultation, offering staff 3.5 weeks salary per year of service (uncapped) to sling their hooks. That's more than the likes of Clifford Chance or Linklaters were willing to offer - and it was clearly a good enough deal to get a serious show of hands. The resulting uptake has been sufficient for the firm to announce that it has no plans for any further redundancies. So, to be clear, it won't be doing a CC and ditching a whole load more lawyers once the volunteers have signed up.

Some happy Herbies lawyers yesterday

A spokeswoman confirmed that the firm had "felt it important to offer an attractive voluntary redundancy package", and that the level of interest suggested that "we got the package about right. It is of course sad that we have to lose staff in these circumstances - we appreciate the contribution they have made to the firm and wish them all the best for the future".