Clyde & Co has lost at least five partners from its global marine group, with the shipping team leaving to set up a boutique firm.
Andrew Preston is set to leave after joining the firm in 1994 and becoming a partner in 2000, as well as Elizabeth Turnbull, co-chair of the firm’s Latin American strategy committee who joined Clydes in 2009.
Fanos Theophani and Rob Collins will also be leaving for the new firm, which will be named Preston Turnbull, after two of the partners.
Rob Collins told Legal Business: ‘It will be a marine trade, commercial litigation boutique firm and a lot of detail is still up in the air as far as that’s concerned.’
Meanwhile, the firm have also confirmed that Ed Mills-Webb has resigned with immediate effect.
In July Clydes confirmed that it has suspended two lawyers including a partner after alleged breaches of accounting rules.
The firm referred the two lawyers to the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) in relation to alleged breaches of obligations in the SRA handbook, including its Code of Conduct and the Accounts Rules.
A spokesperson for Clydes said: ‘We continue to assist the SRA fully with their investigations. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.’
It has been an eventful few months at Clydes, which is set to go through a management shake-up when senior partner Simon Konsta steps down from his role in October just over half way into his five-year term.
Konsta will make way for arbitration co-chair Peter Hirst amid a 21st consecutive year of revenue growth to £611m in the year to 30 April, up 11% on £551.3m last year.