With the practice's results equating to 12% of firm's turnover, litigation proves a winner for Norton Rose

Norton Rose's litigation practice boosted revenues by 26% last year, with the firm now aiming to make one-fifth of its fee income from the group by 2012.

The practice brought in £34.8m in turnover during 2008-09 – beating its budget target by 2% to increase revenues by 26%. In contrast, the firm's revenues as a whole grew by only 6% to £314m.

The result means litigation equated to nearly 12% of the firm's turnover for the last financial year. It intends to increase this proportion to 20% globally over the next two years.

Firmwide litigation chief Antony Dutton said Norton Rose will be making lateral hires and will also broaden the range of litigation services it offers clients to match the firm's main lines of business including corporate, banking, regulatory, insurance, international trade, transport, energy and infrastructure.

Dutton said: "The growth in our practice was not driven off the back of the recession, but from our key clients. In the last few years our relationships with our clients have enhanced and that is the basis for our growth."

Most recently the firm bolstered its Asian litigation practice through the hire of former Barlow Lyde & Gilbert Hong Kong managing partner Camille Jojo and a team of associates to its Hong Kong office.

Norton Rose's plans come as Allen & Overy (A&O) aims to grow its litigation turnover to 15% of overall revenues over the next three to five years. The practice currently generates around 10% of business.

A&O litigation chief Tim House said the firm had identified six growth areas to focus on: internal investigations, antitrust, international arbitration, class actions, banking and finance, and intellectual property.

House said: "The six main focus areas are going to be worthy of attention [moving forward] and we are steadily marching towards the 15% mark. We have made a lot of progress."