CMS Cameron McKenna has doubled the size of  its bonus pool available for distribution to partners after expanding the number of people eligible for a pay out.

The firm has widened its bonus pool from a total 2.5% of its revenues to 5%, opening the scheme up to an expanded group of fixed-share partners for the first time.

The change accompanies the firm's partnership model revamp in May that saw its salaried partner rank scrapped, with 65 salaried partners now being paid through a combination of fixed-share and equity elements.

The bonuses, awarded once a year to top performers, were previously unavailable to the firm's newly-promoted lawyers, known as 'office partners'. These salaried partners, who spent three years in the partner rank before becoming fixed-share ('gateway') partners, received bonuses that linked to their individual and team financial performance as well as overall performance.

Senior partner Dick Tyler (pictured) said: "All of our partners are now eligible to participate in the bonus pool. Previously only gateway [fixed-share] and full-equity partners were entitled to participate, not our office [salaried] partners, who we had separate arrangements for."

The news comes as the firm has sharpened its sector focus to prioritise four key areas, placing renewed emphasis on energy, life sciences, financial institutions and TMT.

Tyler said: "We still have eight sectors but we identified these four in particular given their ability to generate M&A, finance and disputes work, so we are giving them additional focus and prioritising them. No other changes have been made – the remaining four are still key to our sector strategy."

The firm's other four sectors are consumer products, hotels and leisure, infrastructure and project finance and real estate and construction.

The strategy was presented to partners last month when the firm outlined its three-year approach, where issues addressed included looking at how to raise profitability by reviewing the firm's key clients and managing performance in that regard.

Sources have indicated the key clients in question include the National Grid, BT, BP, Lloyds, RBS, Deutsche Bank and AIG.

Tyler said: "A high percentage of our fee income comes from a relatively small number of clients. We are managing and deepening these relationships in ways that reflect what they are asking us to do."

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