Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw’s London arm looks set to come away largely unscathed from the firm’s restructuring, in which 45 partners will be axed from its equity — equivalent to around 10% of its equity partnership.
The firm, which announced the cuts last week as part of a drive to boost profits, will remove 42
The affected partners have already been notified and around half are expected to leave the firm altogether.
He commented: “Downsizing the partnership to this degree is all about us being in a better and healthier position… We are still looking at a number of things to take the firm to the next level in terms of profitability and position in the marketplace.”.
A robust performance from Mayer Brown’s
Likewise, a significant chunk of the partners set to be cut are in the firm’s litigation group, which accounts for about 40% of firm-wide revenues.
Mayer Brown has experienced a number of partner departures from its
The decision to cut such a large group of partners follows a similar restructuring by Mayer Brown’s national rival Sidley Austin in 2000, when it de-equitised 31 partners.
Ex-partners attributed the move as an attempt by the firm to keep up with Chicago-based rivals such as Kirkland & Ellis.
One ex-Mayer Brown partner commented: “It has always had a battle with
He added: “De-equitisations will be easier to do at Mayer Brown than at other firms as the management board has the power to remove partners.”
The move follows Mayer Brown announcing a rejig of its top brass in October last year, with the firm appointing three partners to replace outgoing chairman Ty Fahner, when he steps down next spring. General counsel James Holzhauer will take over as chairman, with Maher and