Simmons & Simmons and CMS Cameron McKenna are gearing up for senior management elections as a spate of top City firms are set to review their leadership this autumn.
Simmons is due to start the election process in the next two months as Mark Dawkins’ current stint as managing partner ends next spring after a three-year term. Although Dawkins refused to comment on whether he would stand for a second term, his tenure is viewed as having helped relaunch Simmons after a turbulent period.
One Simmons partner commented: “[Dawkins] has done a great job and I would have thought he would want to stay. I do not think there is going to be the kind of battle you see at other firms. It is very much under the radar.”
Camerons, meanwhile, has kicked off the search to replace incumbent managing partner Dick Tyler, whose second term at the helm will end next April.
The process, which is being overseen by senior partner Richard Price, will see potential candidates identified by the firm’s board prior to an election with a view to announcing the new position at the firm’s partnership conference in November.
News of the two firms’ elections comes ahead of Allen & Overy’s (A&O’s) upcoming leadership contest, which will decide who will fill the managing and senior partner roles from next May.
The closely-watched process is expected to see current managing partner David Morley take on the senior partner role when Guy Beringer retires next year. In contrast, the managing partner role is regarded as being wide open.
In the absence of a clear front-runner, capital markets veteran Boyan Wells is the most widely cited candidate. Other touted candidates include banking head Michael Duncan and corporate partners Alan Paul and Andrew Ballheimer.
A&O has tried to play down talk of the contest, stating that it will not begin until the New Year. However, observers believe that the debate will effectively start this autumn with one A&O partner citing January as the period when the process will begin in earnest.
One former A&O partner commented: “Is there an alternative out there to Morley? I do not think anyone else would even think about doing it. Morley will be a lot like [former senior partner Bill] Tudor John in approach. People know and like Dave. He is an enthusiast and that is obvious.”
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