CC incumbents enjoy easy re-election rides

Clifford Chance completed the reshuffle of its senior management team last week as its election process drew to a close.

Last month Clifford Chance confirmed the re-election of senior partner Stuart Popham for his second four-year term, which will see him at the helm until 2010. The nomination period for the senior partner election yielded no other candidates and so Popham stood alone for the formal vote, the first in a series of management elections.

Four years ago Popham won a tightly fought election against five other candidates, but this year none of the new management team faced a contested election.

The firm also confirmed the reappointment of Mark Campbell and David Dunnigan for another four years as heads of banking and capital markets respectively. Again, no candidates came forward to stand against the incumbents.

Nicholas Munday, head of insurance at Clifford Chance, is to take over from Jeremy Sandelson, becoming London head of litigation. Sandelson became managing partner of the firm's London operation in January this year.

Head of Asia Jim Baird and head of Germany Hans-Josef Schneider have also been confirmed as remaining in their respective posts for further four-year terms.

In Italy banking partner Charles Adams will take over from former Italian managing partner Nicholas Wrigley, who has stepped down from the role. Banking partner Giuseppe De Palma has been appointed managing partner of the Rome office.

Banking and capital markets partner Yves Herinckx takes over as managing partner of the Brussels office following the departure of corporate partner Laurent Legein, who quit the firm last week to join Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

The firm's former managing partner Peter Cornell announced his retirement from Clifford Chance earlier this year. Cornell, who relinquished the role of managing partner in May, will leave the firm at the end of December.

Former corporate head and chief operating officer David Childs has taken over as managing partner. Childs became the only candidate for the job after Paris managing partner Yves Wehrli withdrew from the running.