Wragge & Co will not make up a single new partner this year, with the national law firm instead choosing to focus on lateral hiring and developing its international offices.

The top 30 firm – which has an all-equity partnership – confirmed it is not holding an internal promotion round this year.

This compares with the three promotions the firm made in 2010 – which included two in Birmingham and one in Munich – one promotion in 2009 and nine in 2008.

Wragges senior partner Quentin Poole said: "We have not appointed any partners internally this year, though of course we are an all-equity partnership and I suspect that many of the partners appointed elsewhere are either salaried or fixed-share.

"We will be announcing a number of internal director appointments over the next couple of months and we have appointed a number of UK laterals over the last 12 months, as well as adding partners in Paris and appointing two in Abu Dhabi."

Wragges launched an office in Paris in April 2010 after hiring a 10-partner team from its French referral firm Lefevre Pelletier & Associes. Meanwhile, it launched its first office in the Middle East in December with a base in Abu Dhabi.

News of Wragges' decision comes after Allen & Overy (A&O) and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) announced new partner promotions this week. A&O is making up 21 new partners firmwide, while BLP has announced its largest promotion round since 2006, with 13 new partners.