Legal Business

Always a bridesmaid: can Nabarro revive itself post-Lehman without a partner?

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Sarah Downey reports on the property leader’s attempts to position itself.

With its five-year financial performance standing out as one of the worst of the top 50 in last year’s LB100 and at least one abandoned merger talk under its belt, Nabarro is perceived by a number of clients and rivals as a firm in need of change.

Heavily dependent on a mixture of high-end but also commoditised property work, the firm has dropped down the UK legal rankings from its 2008 high, when it stood in 23rd place on the back of a revenue increase of 16% to £142.4m.