SNR Denton has been hit by the resignation of two more key partners as it emerges that the firm may hold senior equity partners to a 12-month notice period.

The latest partners to hand in their notice are regulatory head Chris Borg and senior banking partner Michael Black, who are set to join Reed Smith and Norton Rose respectively.

The departures come after the resignations earlier this year of advocacy chief Rory McAlpine and the firm's sole social housing financing specialist partner Ian Roberts for Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Pinsent Masons respectively.

All of the partners and the firms they are joining are currently in negotiations 
with SNR Denton's management over release dates. None have been put on gardening leave.

The move to hold senior equity partners to 12 months' notice is understood to be unusual for the firm, although a spokesperson said that it did not represent a change in policy.

Commenting on the notice periods, one ex-partner said: "I can only guess that they are doing it to deter others from leaving, but it doesn't seem like a very effective strategy to me and could be counter-productive when SNR Denton itself is trying to hire partners in the future."

The news comes against a background of sharply falling profitability at the newly-merged firm's UK arm. Partners were informed at a meeting on Monday (27 June) that partner profits for 2010-11 fell by 36% to £232,000 from last year's figure of £360,000.

The firm has also seen revenues fall during the year, with unaudited figures showing that turnover dropped by 8% from £167.5m to £154.4m.

After confirming the significant drop in profits to partners, SNR Denton chief executive, Elliott Portnoy (pictured), who is in London this week, is understood to have pledged that the merged firm's EMEA arm will bring average partner profits back to £400,000 during the current financial year.

In a statement, the firm commented: "In a year of transformation for our firm, including the addition of over 50 partners worldwide, the tough climate of 2010-11 did not meet the economic aspirations of our EMEA business. However, based on steps being taken by the new EMEA board and improvements in trading, we are budgeting for a substantial turnaround this year."