Eversheds Sutherland is set announce the firms new UK chair, with partners setting a deadline of 4 December for their votes, The Lawyer understands.

Manchester senior partner Michael Clavell-Bate, joint head of energy and infrastructure Robert Pitcher and head of financial services Pamela Thompson emerged as the nominees to replace incumbent environmental partner Paul Smith in the role from 1 May 2018.

Pitcher and Thompson both work in the firm’s London offices while Clavell-Bate is based in the north.

It is thought that partners will vote through a system provided by the Electoral Reform Services (ERS) through a single transferable vote system.

Should none of three win an outright majority in the first round of voting, the partner with the fewest will be eliminated from the running. The second-choice votes will then be allocated to each remaining candidate from which a winner will be decided.

Eversheds Sutherland is not the only firm thought to use this system, as Allen & Overy and Simmons & Simmons are both ERS clients.

The UK chair concerns the LLP side of the firm including the UK, France, Germany, the Middle East and a handful of its Asia Pac offices.

The successful candidate will work along the firm’s top management including co-CEOs Mark Wasserman and Lee Ranson as well as international managing partner Ian Gray.

Wasserman and Ranson assumed the co-CEO roles after the merged firm went live on 1 February, while Gray took up his position in 2015. Prior to that, Gray headed up legacy Eversheds litigation practice between 2007 and 2015.

Smith was elected into the role of UK chair in 2013 and has decided to step down from the role.

Eversheds Sutherland declined to comment.