There's nothing like a merger to prompt a flurry of partner exits, and despite the overwhelming majority voting in favour of the pending union between Olswang, CMS UK and Nabarro, Olswang is currently seeing a number of partner departures ahead of the three-way combination.

Last week saw a trio of exits, including the firm's former Asia head, technology partner Rob Bratby, to Arnold & Porter; patent prosecution co-chair Justin Hill to Dentons; and corporate finance partner Azlinda Ariffin-Boromand to Withers. It also emerged last week that Nabarro had slashed its pension deficit ahead of the tie-up.

Elsewhere, Clifford Chance has been thinking about whether it needs to join the growing ranks of firms with multiple legal services centres, as it emerged that its efficiency drive helped save the firm £7m last financial year through better working processes.

Simmons & Simmons may be hoping for similar gains from its latest initiative to foster innovation at the firm, which sees lawyers encouraged to apply for time off from fee earning to develop ideas to modernise the business.

PayPal, meanwhile, has decided to force its law firms' hands when it comes to modernising their businesses by boosting diversity. The tech giant has warned its legal advisers that they will miss out on work if they do not improve diversity.

 Other highlights on Legal Week last week: