Firms announced three-way merger deal back in October
Olswang and Nabarro have put pen to paper on a deal that will see the City duo move into CMS Cameron McKenna’s (CMS) London headquarters.
CMS has been based in Cannon Place since 2015 and occupies the first, second and third floors of the building. The new lease deal means that Olswang and Nabarro lawyers will pack up their belongings and relocate to the building’s sixth and seventh floors, which are currently vacant.
Nabarro will move out of its offices at 125 London Wall, which it only began occupying in 2014, while Olswang will move from its current headquarters at 90 High Holborn.
According to CMS, the move — which will create the sixth largest UK law firm by revenue — offers “greater flexibility and collaboration” and “marks the next key stage” in the trio’s integration. Meanwhile, Andrew Inkester, managing partner of Nabarro, said:
This is an important step in delivering a successful merger. Our people in London will be under one roof as one team in May. The technology and collaborative work space at Cannon Place will help the new firm make the most of its combined talent.
Back in October — after much speculation — the firms finally confirmed that the three-way merger would go ahead. Due to be completed on 1 May 2017, the new global megafirm will have 1,000 partners and over 7,500 employees across 65 offices in 36 countries.
The news comes just a week after Legal Cheek exclusively revealed that CMS was offering future trainees cash to defer their training contracts for 12 months.
According to sources close to the firm, the newbie lawyers are being handed around £8,000 to take an impromptu gap year. It is understood, thanks to the recent merger, CMS has seen its trainee lawyer intake swell to 90, despite having space to accommodate around 60. CMS declined to either confirm or deny the deferrals.