The European arm of Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw has emerged largely unscathed from a mass cull that saw 45 of the Chicago-based firm’s partners demoted or asked to leave.

Paul Maher, London senior partner, said that "around 10 per cent" of the 45 partners are based in Europe, where Mayer Brown has large offices in London, Germany and France.

He declined to comment on the specific number of lawyers that would be affected in each office.

The cull, which will see the firm lose 10 per cent of its partnership, is one of the largest in recent memory and comes as Mayer Brown announced record profits and turnover for 2006.

It is understood that the restructuring is aimed at boosting the firm’s profits per partner, a key measure of law firm performance, which lag Chicago-based rivals such as Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood and McDermott, Will & Emery.

In the most recent survey by American Lawyer magazine, Mayer Brown was ranked America’s eighth largest firm by revenues but achieved only 51st place in profits per partner rankings.

In a statement, Mayer Brown said that the move was a “difficult but necessary adjustment designed to enhance the firm’s position” and emphasised that it was emulating similar shifts at “other large firms”.

Despite this, the firm has already attracted a barrage of fierce criticism on US legal websites. One anonymous commentator claiming to be a “client of large law firms” dismissed Mayer Brown’s explanations on the Wall Street Journal Law Blog as “one of the most moronic and transparent arguments I have ever heard for thinly disguising plain old greed and short-sightedness”.

Another anonymous commentator noted that the likely effect of the cull would have on staff morale and the firm’s ability to attract junior lawyers. Mayer Brown “clearly has no loyalty whatsoever to people who have helped grow it into a multi-billion dollar business”, they said.

However, other bloggers were more sympathetic, pointing out that Mayer Brown was operating in an increasingly competitive business where partners need to pull their weight.

“Everyone seems to be assuming that these 45 partners were highly productive and skilled lawyers and that their firings/demotions are the result of ugly greed by remaining Mayer Brown partners. Isn’t it just possible - and just as likely - that these 45 are underperforming partners who are not earning their keep?” another commentator asked.

Mr Maher said there was “broad recognition” among the partnership that the cull was necessary to ensure the firm met its strategic targets. These include a three-year plan to double revenue and headcount in London, where the firm has just taken space in a new flagship office development on Bishopsgate in the City of London.

Revenue at Mayer Brown’s London office grew by 22 per cent last year outstripping the firm as a whole where revenues were up 11 per cent.

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