Four US partners have emerged as front runners to replace long-time Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe chairman Ralph Baxter when he retires next year.

The firm has narrowed down candidates to fill Baxter’s role to Los Angeles-based finance partner Alan Benjamin; Walter Brown, a white-collar litigator in San Francisco; James Stengel, a mass torts and product liability litigator in New York; and Mitchell Zuklie, a technology-focused corporate lawyer in Silicon Valley, writes The AmLaw Daily.