Three international Legal firms are to merge 

• CMS, Nabarro and Olswang confirm ‘combination’ talks

Three London-headquartered international firms with a combined turnover of nearly £1bn are to merge, according to press reports last night.

An announcement involving CMS Cameron McKenna, Nabarro and Olswang is imminent, The Lawyer reports.

CMS, which was established in 1999, has 850 partners and 3,200 lawyers across 60 offices (pictured) in 35 countries.

The firm reported net profits up by 3.3% for the year ending 31 December 2014 on revenue up 11% from £679m to £753m. In the year it added 109 new partners, including 78 from mergers with Scottish firm Dundas & Wilson and Swiss practice ZPG Avocats.

Nabarro, which has offices in London, Manchester, Sheffield, Brussels, Dubai and Singapore, has a turnover of £130.4m. The firm has more than 100 partners leading 300 lawyers focused on delivering ‘practical, business-savvy legal advice’, according to its website.

Last year the Gazette reported that partner profit had risen by over 10% for the third consecutive year, on income rising more quickly than at any time since the 2008 crash.

Releasing provisional results last month, Olswang announced that in the year ending 30 April, total revenues were £113m, down from £126m in 2014/15. However, profit-per-equity partner was expected to remain steady at £490,000.

The firm, which was founded in 1981, has a headcount of nearly 700 staff, including 100 partners across seven offices.

Source: Law Gazette

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