Norton Rose’s Partner Profits Jump 27% on Spike in US Demand

Norton Rose Fulbright posted double-digit revenue and profit gains last year, driven by a surge in the law firm’s US operations.

The firm brought in more than $2.8 billion in gross revenue, a 16% increase from the previous year, according to Norton Rose. Its profits per equity partner jumped by 27% to nearly $2.1 million.

“Virtually every practice at our firm had an up year,” said Jeff Cody, Norton Rose’s Dallas-based global managing partner. Cody cited increasing demand in key services, such as project finance, mergers and acquisitions, and disputes.

Norton Rose, which operates as a Swiss verein, saw its US revenue rise by more than 23% to $1.2 billion and profits per equity partner spike by nearly 32% over the year. The firm has added 12 US partners so far in 2026 and expects the tally to hit 25 to 30 new partners by the end of the year. That would outpace the firm’s 10 US partner hires last year.

Norton Rose leaders decided “we should slow that a bit” in terms of US partner hiring early last year as President Donald Trump targeted Big Law firms in a series of executive actions that left the market “fairly unsettled,” according to Cody. “As things settled down again, then we began to get active in the lateral markets,” he said.

Courting AI Work

Norton Rose is among a slew of firms competing for work in the artificial intelligence data center boom, which Cody called a “big play.”

The firm’s lawyers negotiated a ground lease for Crusoe Energy Systems for the massive site of OpenAI’s $500 billion Stargate data center in Texas. The Trump administration announced the project in January 2025.

Norton Rose lawyers also took on Google, securing a $1.4 billion settlement as outside counsel for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) in a pair of anti-privacy lawsuits in May. The firm billed the state $156.5 million for contingency work on the matters, according to public documents.

Peter Scott, the firm’s London-based global manager partner, also touted its success on “cross-border mandates.” As a Swiss verein, Norton Rose’s regional offices are financially independent. The managing partners overseeing those arms form the global management committee.

Scott noted that US and UK teams secured a successful resolution for semiconductor company Qualcomm in the $480 million proceedings brought by a consumers’ association before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Norton Rose in 2024 adopted a new leadership structure meant to encourage lawyers to collaborate across global offices. The redesign came after the firm’s former chief executive, Gerry Pecht, left abruptly in 2023 after 43 years with the firm.

Norton Rose adjusted its design in July 2025 after partners of the Australia region and EMEA region (including Europe, Middle East and Asia) voted to integrate their operations, said Scott, who is now the managing partner of the business. Norton Rose is splitting with its smaller South African business, which is set to become an independent law firm in March.

The firm is prioritizing keeping attrition rates low across global offices, said Cody.

“We really focus on making sure we retain all of our super talented people in this incredibly competitive market,” Cody said. “You know, our folks get a lot of offers. They just don’t take them.”