A mass reshuffle has taken place of DLA Piper’s executive managment team, with the firm’s Dutch head of corporate Barbara van Hussen and chief of practices and sectors Juan Picon being made joint managing directors of Europe and the Middle East. Meanwhile, Ince & Co has selected Hamburg-based partner Jan Heuvels to succeed James Wilson as international senior partner.
Picon’s appointment comes after heading practices and sectors alongside Simon Levine, who is set to become chief executive in the New Year. That position has now been split in two, with London-based head of corporate Charles Severs becoming managing director of practice groups and Germany managing partner Jan Geert Meents promoted to managing director of clients and sectors. Both will sit on the nine-person executive management team.
Van Hussen becomes one of the most senior women at the firm and the first female on what was an all-male executive committee. Both corporate partners, van Hussen and Picon, take over from retiring head of Europe and the Middle East Ulrich Jungst.
After a year of turmoil in Australia for DLA Piper, with head Tony Holland having departed last year to join local firm Gilbert + Tobin and Sydney-based Andrew Darwin stepping into the role for an interim period, John Weber now fills the final spot on the management team having been brought on board to be Australia managing partner from Minter Ellison. Darwin continues in his role as COO and keeps his spot on the firm’s global board.
With several senior positions vacated, UK head of corporate Bob Bishop takes over as international chief from Charles Severs and M&A partner Ben Parameswaran and employment partner Bernd Borgmann replace Jan Geert Meents as Germany managing partners.
DLA Piper’s executive managment team steers the firm’s strategy in all regions but the US, which has its own committee that is chaired by global co-chairman Roger Meltzer, and Jay Rains, who is set to join Levine as co-CEO on 1 January.
Ince & Co has also increased the number of management positions, appointing global head of shipping, Paul Herring to the newly created position of chairman to work alongside Heuvels in representing the firm to clients.
Day-to-day responsibility for running the firm will remain with Heuvels who is relocating to London to take up his position in January 2015. Jan Hungar will take over his current role as Hamburg managing partner.
Wilson, who has led the firm for two terms since 2008, will return to a client facing role in the global shipping group.
tom.moore@legalease.co.uk
