French firms have kicked off the year by announcing their partner promotions with Slaughter and May ally Bredin Prat, De Pardieu Brocas Maffei and Gide Loyrette Nouel all expanding their partnerships.

Bredin Prat and De Pardieu have both added one new partner apiece from 1 January, with Gide making up two.

At Bredin Prat, arbitration lawyer Raed Fathallah has been promoted to the partnership from his position as counsel, with the promotion representing a decrease on last year's figure of two new partners. Meanwhile, tax lawyer Marie-Laure Bruneel has been promoted at De Pardieu, after the firm last year failed to make a single partner promotion.

Bredin Prat corporate partner Patrick Dziewolski said: "At Bredin Prat our philosophy is to make partnership decisions based largely on who is ready for partnership, rather than economic considerations. Last year we elected two new partners – one in corporate and one in tax. This year, we are reinforcing our arbitration practice by electing Raed Fathallah, an excellent practitioner, and we are also reinforcing labour and finance by designating four new counsel in those areas."

Gide last week announced it was promoting two lawyers to partner in its Paris and Moscow offices. In 2010 the French firm made up four new partners.

Declining partnership prospects at large French firms have been cited as one of the main reasons for the launch of several new boutiques in Paris over the last year. Four senior associates from De Pardieu and the local office of Clifford Chance established Lawington in January 2010.