Staff under consultation will be subject to six categories determining their future prospects at the firm, a document leaked to legal website RollOnFriday reveals. Criteria, worth between 15 to 20 points, include strength of relationship with clients, specialist skills, business development, cross-group work, attendance and disciplinary records. 

Under the penalty system outlined in the document, fee earners will have points taken for sick leave in 2008. Meanwhile, staff that have not developed client links will also be penalised, causing anger among junior staff who will not have had time to develop such links. 

The criteria, while still in draft form, will be subject to change in the upcoming months and throughout the consultation period. 

DLA Piper is now under its second redundancy consultation, which involves about 30 fee earners and 100 support staff across eight UK offices. A similar consultation last year saw 15 fee earners and 16 support staff made redundant.