Walker Morris makes up record number of partners

Walker Morris is to promote six associates to the partnership, the firm's biggest promotional round ever.

In May two will be promoted in the property group and one each in banking, corporate, planning and regulatory.

Chairman Peter Smart said: "They're all quality individuals and our view has always been that, if they're quality people, then we'll bring them on - it doesn't matter how many there are."

Half of the promotions are female. The firm has maintained a 50:50 ratio of male-female promotions since the 2003-04 financial year. The promotions highlight the firm's ambitious growth drive. It broke the £600,000 profit per equity partner (PEP) mark for the first time in the last financial year, hitting £605,000, as first reported by The Lawyer (12 June 2006).

The firm also bagged Pinsent Masons' star projects partner Mark Sanderson this financial year, who boasts close ties to the Ministry of Defence, as first reported by The Lawyer (16 October 2006).

Smart said that, despite the seven new equity sharers, the firm was on track for a PEP rise of 18.5 per cent, but added: "There's still two months to go."