Mayer Brown partners approve top-level overhaul

Mayer Brown's partnership has approved a new governance structure for the firm in an overhaul that sees vice chairman Paul Maher miss out on a top-level management role.

The new management structure sees the elimination of the both vice-chairman seats, which were previously filled by London corporate partner Maher (pictured) and Washington DC litigation partner Kenneth Geller.

Along with voting in favour of Herbert 'Bert' Krueger to replace James Holzhauer as chairman in June, the firm's partners also approved a plan to create the new governance structure that replaces its current 16-member policy and planning committee with a new six-member management committee and 12-member partnership board.

Under the new governance structure, the management committee was charged with selecting a managing partner, with the newly-elected members selecting Geller for the post.

Geller became joint vice chairman of the firm in 2007 when Mayer Brown created an "office of the chairman" structure with Holzhauer as chairman and Maher as a second vice chairman. The new governance structure brings the firm closer to the arrangement it had in place before the 2007 shake-up.

Eleven partners have been nominated for roles on the new management team, including two London-based partners. London senior partner Sean Connolly has taken a seat on the management committee, while real estate partner Jeremy Clay has been elected as a member of the partnership board

The new, smaller management committee includes fresh faces from around the world who the firm's chairman-elect Krueger said will bring "new ideas to their leadership roles."

Partners Cabell Chinnis (Palo Alto) Sean Connolly (London), Paul Jorissen (New York), Jean-Philippe Lambert (Paris), Elaine Lo (Hong Kong) and Paul Theiss (Chicago) will serve on the management committee, while five partners from Charlotte, London, Chicago, Washington and Frankfurt have been elected to the partnership board, with seven more to be voted on next month.

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