Slaughter and May is overhauling its senior management, with senior partner Tim Clark standing down to be replaced by head of corporate Chris Saul.
The 52-year-old Saul will take the role from 1 May, when
The rest of the magic circle law firm’s management team – roles held by practice partner David Frank and executive partner Melvyn Hughes - will also be up for grabs in an election later in the year.
The change marks a swift rise for Saul, who took over as the firm’s head of corporate from M&A heavyweight Nigel Boardman in 2004. Saul is well regarded within the Slaughters partnership and has acted for some of the firm’s major clients such as Unilever, General Electric, Emap and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young.
Saul told Legal Week: “I am absolutely delighted and am keen to do all I can to make sure the firm maintains the special place it is with its unique mixture of collegiality, supportiveness and drive.”
Many had expected some of the firm’s longest-serving partners, such as Boardman or former finance head Richard Slater to ultimately take on the senior partner role, though in recent years Boardman had expressed a lack of interest in the role.
The position, which is mainly ambassadorial, has been held by names including Giles Henderson and George Inglis. Saul said that his responsibilities will also include developing the practice and nurturing the firm’s ‘best friends’ relationships. He added that he hopes to keep close links with his clients.
Clark, who is 56, has been the senior partner at Slaughters since a well-publicised election against Michael Pescod in 2001. He has been at the firm since joining as a trainee in 1977 and has spent 25 years as partner. In 2005, the firm announced that
The appointment of a new management team could also be significant for Slaughters, as Frank and Hughes effectively perform the managing partner brief for the firm.
Rivals will be watching the leadership shake-up to see any shift in Slaughters’ strategy, which has seen the firm eschew the international expansion of its top City rivals to focus its cross-border work on ‘best friends’ network of leading independents. Despite being dwarfed in size recent years by its expansive magic circle rivals, the firm is still regarded as the
Why the "disarming" Saul is Slaughters' secret weapon - Editors' Blog
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