London staff at what will soon be the world’s sixth largest law firm by headcount will be based in a single location, allowing them to work ‘more synergistically alongside clients’, it was announced today.

City firms CMS UK, Nabarro and Olswang have signed a lease to occupy the sixth and seventh floors of Cannon Place in London ahead of their three-way merger, which is due to complete on 1 May. CMS currently occupies the first three floors. 

In an announcement today, CMS senior partner Penelope Warne said Cannon Place was an ‘excellent collaborative working environment’.

CMS moved to the building in June last year. Today’s announcement states that the building is ‘designed to facilitate mobile working and cross-team collaboration, achieved by innovative use of space and cutting-edge technology’.

Nabarro managing partner Andrew Inkester described the lease-signing as an important step in delivering a successful merger.

Olswang chief executive officer Paul Stevens said: ‘One of the principles we share is the way in which we aspire to work – to move away from the traditional notion of lawyers at desks and toward a fully agile platform that allows us to work more synergistically alongside clients from anywhere.’

The new firm will trade as CMS and the name of the UK LLP will be CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP.

The deal is expected to create a new ‘City powerhouse’ with a £1bn turnover.