Norton Rose Fulbright
A guide to the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Last updated:
December 10, 2024
A guide to the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) is one of the world’s leading international law firms and one of really just a few firms that can truly describe itself as ‘global’ thanks to its vast international footprint.
The firm is headquartered in London but it has a strong US presence and is often described as ‘British-American’, in a similar fashion to transatlantic rival Hogan Lovells.
As we know it today, the firm was formed from the 2013 merger of City firm Norton Rose and US firm Fulbright & Jaworski. It now has more than 3,700 lawyers, including 1,000+ partners, across more than 50 offices worldwide with a big presence in the US thanks to its history of mergers with US firms.
Norton Rose was originally founded in 1794 and by the turn of the 20th century the firm had been a significant player in the City for six decades.
The firm continued to grow and in 1976 set up its first international office in Hong Kong as it embarked on a strategy of international expansion. By the end of the 1990s Norton Rose had 22 offices internationally.
The 2010s saw the firm aim to deliver on its vision to become one of the “world’s top global legal brands” and a series of transformative mergers soon followed.
First, Norton Rose merged with major Australian firm Deacons in 2010. Then, its transformative merger with Houston-based law firm Fulbright & Jaworski in 2013, a move that created a global top 10 firm, adding 11 offices in the US and over 800 lawyers.
More mergers followed, most notably its combination with New York firm Chadbourne & Parke in 2017 which added another $250 million of revenue to the top line.
Norton Rose Fulbright is a full service law firm and has strong expertise across a wide range of practice areas. It’s probably best known for its work in energy, infrastructure and resources, and transport (aviation, rail and shipping) where it has a leading asset finance practice.
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Here are some recent work and industry highlights for Norton Rose Fulbright:
Project Finance ‘Deals of the Year’ Awards: Norton Rose Fulbright advised on nine winning deals across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and the United States at the 2024 Project Finance International (PFI) Awards. They included its advice to sponsors on the £2bn financing and development of the Moray West offshore wind farm in the Moray Firth, Scotland.
Standard Chartered Green Trade Finance Facility: Norton Rose Fulbright advised Standard Chartered Bank on a €350 million green trade finance invoice-based facility for Polestar Group in 2022. The facility supported the import of electric vehicles into Europe and North America.
Landmark £300m Student Accommodation Portfolio Acquisition: Norton Rose Fulbright advised Savills Investment Management on its £300m acquisition of a student accommodation portfolio from Vita Group. The portfolio includes three purpose-built student accommodation projects located in Coventry, Edinburgh and Belfast and was one of the largest investment transactions of its kind in 2023.
Pay Rise for Newly Qualified (NQ) Lawyers: In February 2024, Norton Rose Fulbright increased its NQ salary to £120,000 from £105,000, a 14% boost. In addition, NQs who hit their chargeable hours target will be in line for a performance bonus of up to 40%, meaning the maximum reward will be £168,000. The base salary hike saw NRF match Hogan Lovells and Herbert Smith Freehills, the highest-paying Silver Circle firm, and it’s just £5,000 short of what the Magic Circle pays its NQs.
Norton Rose Fulbright is a full service corporate law firm, advising clients including companies, financial institutions and governments. It’s particularly known for its strengths in the following areas:
Energy, Infrastructure and Resources: The firm is a global leader in the energy sector, advising on significant projects, transactions, and disputes. The firm has a Band 1 ranking by Chambers for its renewables practice and its mining practice. It has a Band 2 ranking for its power practice.
Asset Finance: Norton Rose Fulbright has a strong asset finance practice, known particularly for its aviation and shipping expertise. It acts for banks, financial institutions, airlines and shipping companies. It is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers for Aviation Finance and also Band 1 for Shipping Finance.
Insurance: Norton Rose Fulbright is a leader in insurance work, advising on complex and high-value M&A, disputes, and regulatory matters in the sector. It is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers for non-contentious insurance advice.
We use Chambers rankings to demonstrate a firm's strengths. Chambers is the most highly-regarded provider of law firm rankings in the legal industry. Law firms are ranked in bands from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest) across a range of practice areas.
It's important to note that being ranked in any band at all is still considered a significant achievement.
NRF can be described as an 'upper mid-market' firm with a large International presence, particularly in the US. Its main competitors include the likes of Ashurst, Herbert Smith Freehills and Hogan Lovells.
Here’s what Norton Rose Fulbright pays its London trainees and newly qualified (NQ) lawyers:
Trainee First Year: £48,500
Trainee Second Year: £53,000
Newly Qualified (NQ): £120,000
We have a list of salaries paid by all of the UK’s top law firms here.
Norton Rose Fulbright is the 7th biggest law firm in the UK by revenue. In 2023, its revenue was £1.6 billion.
In 2023, its profit per equity partner (PEP) was £820,000.
Note, however, that Norton Rose Fulbright is structured as a ‘Swiss verein’ which means its finances are separated between its US business and its non-US business (i.e. the legacy Norton Rose firm in the UK).
The figures in the chart above show the revenue for Norton Rose Fulbright LLP in the UK which includes all of the firm’s operations outside of the US. The firm does not report profit per equity partner (PEP) for its UK arm.
In 2023, Norton Rose Fulbright’s average profit per equity partner (PEP) was £820,000.
This is the total amount of profit available for distribution among equity partners, divided by the number of equity partners at the firm.
This represents the average amount that equity partners are entitled to. Some will receive significantly more, some less. It depends on the firm’s profit-sharing formula and each partner’s seniority.
Norton Rose Fulbright takes on 45-50 trainees each year in the UK.
Trainees complete four seats in different departments, each lasting six months.
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