Dickinson wins battle to be crowned Simmons' top man

Simmons & Simmons has announced that former managing partner David Dickinson will become the firm's new senior partner after he won a close election against Italy managing partner Richard Slater.

Dickinson told The Lawyer that he would step down from his current role as head of the international banking group to take up the new position on 1 July.

"I don't want to be seen as too narrow - I'll be working across all areas of the strategy, not just banking," said Dickinson. "I'm going to be outwardly focused."

As first revealed on www.thelawyer.com (7 April), details of the election result were not disclosed to partners. Dickinson needed 51 per cent of the vote to claim victory.

He said: "I see my role as being to help my colleagues strengthen and deepen relationships with our existing clients. I also intend to continue with initiatives that help the firm attract and retain the best people."

Dickinson takes over as senior partner from Janet Gaymer, who has been appointed to the position of commissioner of public appointments for England and Wales.

Senior litigator Philip Vaughan and Rotterdam partner Ralph Kroener were knocked out of contention in the first election round.

Simmons partners recently gave the go-ahead for a major push on its international dispute resolution practice in a bid to attract big-hitting clients from the banking and energy sectors.