Dark horizon

You know it’s an odd year when typically pedestrian City performers like Norton Rose or CMS Cameron McKenna top the tables for their rate of growth. The last time that Camerons grew its revenue at a faster rate than the market as a whole was in 1998/99. For Norton Rose, it was 2001/02, just as the legal industry was entering a three-year slowdown.

A whole cycle has come and gone since then. Norton Rose, Camerons, and other large full-service City firms, with expensive international networks that nonetheless lack the muscle of the Magic Circle, have tended to lag behind the market. But this year, even as the rate of growth across the LB100 has edged up only incrementally to 14%, Norton Rose, Camerons and peers, such as Lovells and Simmons & Simmons, have seen their rate of growth rocket.

This was partly the result of the uplift enjoyed by firms with significant Euro-denominated businesses, which all these firms benefit from to varying degrees. Norton Rose, with 27% revenue growth, comes out as one of the top three performers for organic growth in the LB100. Camerons, a firm that has traditionally had a growth cycle almost identical to Norton Rose’s, is not far behind at 21%, whilst Lovells, which last achieved double-digit growth five years ago, saw its bottom line bulge by 13%. Simmons & Simmons is also on an upward trend, finishing the year 16% ahead of last year in revenue terms.

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