Internal promotions

Laterals

Intake as percentage of partnership 2005-06: 4

New female partners as percentage of intake 2005-06: 50

Firms recruited from: Norton Rose, Pinsent Masons, Richards Butler, Stephenson Harwood

Equity structure: 24 equity partners, 21 non-equity partners

Practice area(s) most heavily promoted: Real estate-related areas

Bircham Dyson Bell has reconfigured itself towards commercial and real estate work and away from its traditional Westminster client base, and that is revealed starkly in its partnership appointments.

It has not made any internal promotions since 2003-04, and even then they were in the traditional sectors of employment, private client and litigation. That year saw five different practice areas get the nod, but in the past two years the only partnership appointments have been in real estate (including its merger with housing specialist Jenkins & Hand), consistent with the firm’s aggressive targeting of the real estate/planning/projects sector.