Baker McKenzie tax partner Alex Chadwick (pictured) will lead the firm’s City office until the end of 2022 after seeing off competition from antitrust partner Samantha Mobley.
The firm announced today (19 November) the election of Chadwick for a second three-year term at the helm of the firm’s 500-strong London base, following a contested vote last night.
A Bakers lifer, he joined the firm as a trainee in 1990, made partner in 1999 and went on to head the firm’s City tax practice. He first took on the role of London managing partner in September 2016, when his predecessor, the late Paul Rawlinson, became the firm’s global chair.
A member of the London management committee, Mobley had earlier this year also put her name forward in the race to become Bakers’ chair but did not make the final three shortlist. The election eventually saw Hong Kong-based Milton Cheng elected to the role in September.
Under Chadwick’s tenure the firm’s London office has grown revenue 40% and scored 26 laterals in a bid to strengthen its transactional practices.
The last few months were troubled, however. In August, the Solicitors Regulation Authority referred Bakers’ former London head Gary Senior for prosecution to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) after he ‘behaved in an inappropriate manner’ and ‘sought to initiate intimate activity’ with a junior member of staff in 2012. The hearings will start on 2 December.
While in April, the firm announced the unexpected death of Rawlinson, six months after he took what was expected to be a temporary leave of absence due to exhaustion.
Commenting on his re-appointment, Chadwick said in a statement: ‘I am very honoured to be elected managing partner of Baker McKenzie in London once more. I am grateful to have an opportunity to build on the progress we have achieved so far and to continue expanding Baker McKenzie’s presence in London, as the City remains a vitally important financial centre for the firm.’
