Camerons rejigs management in quest to match alliance

CMS Cameron McKenna has radically overhauled its management structure to pave the way for the firm’s UK expansion plans.

Under the scheme, which was voted through this month, the firm will be governed by a single 15-member board, including up to nine elected members and six global practice group heads.

Previously, Camerons operated both a ­seven-member management board for general governance and an executive committee for implementation.

The move is part of a raft of changes made by new managing partner Duncan Weston. The other members of the CMS European alliance have given him the task of enlarging the firm’s UK presence to match the domestic standings of the alliance members.

Weston said: “In the past we’ve had an executive board and a management board. It became quite difficult to know who was making which decisions.

“Now we can make decisions much more quickly. With more people on the board we’ve got everybody on side.”

Sources within Camerons said a merger with a UK firm was a possibility and that the board shake-up will enable Weston to act quickly if an opportunity arises.

Weston will also work with a committee of seven full-time executives, including partners and non-lawyers, to handle internal matters.

The vote, which laid out a new partnership constitution, was passed with a ­comfortable majority, but sources said there was some resistance from partners who felt they might be left out of the new structure.