Childs' power grows with Clifford Chance COO promotion

Clifford Chance is radically shaking-up its senior management team after naming global corporate head David Childs as chief operating officer (COO).

Childs is set to take on the mantle of COO on 1 November. It is a title not seen at Clifford Chance since Garth Pollard held the role at the post-merger firm.

At the same time Phillip Palmer, one of two executive partners who are part of the firm’s management committee and whose remit covers areas such as IT, finance and HR, will return to fee-earning on a full-time basis.

Chris Perrin, the firm’s other executive partner, will now report to Childs as well as Peter Cornell, Clifford Chance's managing partner. In the past Perrin and Palmer reported directly to Cornell.

The appointment is a sign of Childs’ growing standing within the firm. As well as being the global head of corporate, he is also heading up a group, dubbed the ‘Childs Committee’, which is currently reviewing the firm’s worldwide compensation system.