Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw has drawn up plans to axe 45 partners from its equity – equivalent to around 10% of its equity partnership – in a bid to boost profitability at the Chicago giant.
Most of the de-equitisations are likely to take place across the firm’s US offices, although it is not yet known which offices and practice groups will take the biggest hit.
The move comes despite the 1500-lawyer firm announcing record end-of-year turnover, with fee income approaching $1.1bn (£560m).
Despite the robust performance, Mayer Brown has seen a number of recent departures from its New York office. Notably, a five-partner finance team quit the firm to join White & Case last month while corporate partner William Candelaria left to join the Manhattan arm of West Coast firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.
Seven years ago, Mayer Brown's Chicago rival Sidley Austin carried out a similar restructuring of its partnership, when it de-equitised 31 partners. That move is currently the subject of a lawsuit filed by the influential Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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