Frontrunners emerge for Clyde & Co senior partner role
Insurance partner James Burns and disputes partner Simon Konsta are believed to be the frontrunners to lead Clyde & Co when senior partner Michael Payton steps aside next year.
Michael Payton
Sources close to the firm have also suggested that litigation partner Ben Knowles could be another leading candidate.
Payton’s decision to stand down from the senior partner role will bring an end to a 28-year leadership (30 November 2012). Chief executive Peter Hasson leads the management board and will oversee the election process. Payton will become chairman of the firm to manage the transition from November next year.
However, a source close to the firm suggested that although Konsta, who was senior partner at Barlow Lyde & Gilbert prior to that firm’s merger with Clydes, is the “obvious choice”, he may not want to stand.
They said: “James Burns has got to be up there. He must be a frontrunner from the Clydes side. On the BLG side, Kosta has done a version of the job before and in a sense is the most qualified for it and is well-versed now in the politics of the firm.
“He may have reassessed his situation after spending a year focusing more on his own practice.”
The vote for Payton’s replacement will take place on 28 February with candidates announcing their candidature early in the new year.
It follows the news that former Clydes COO David Jabbari has joined Pannone to run its referral network Connect2Law (6 December 1012).
The Lawyer examined the dynamics of Clydes’ management in the wake of last year’s £287m merger (29 October 2012).
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Readers' comments (53)
Anonymous | 12-Dec-2012 4:20 pm
Kev's a good guy who has done very well in his sector of the market but as an SP of a major international law firm? Not sure he'd be up for it in any event.
Surely it has to be a Clydes partner this time round.
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Anonymous | 12-Dec-2012 6:54 pm
That last comment speaks volumes about the status of BLG partners in the 'merged' firm.
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McDowell | 12-Dec-2012 8:10 pm
Strong leadership can trump problematic strategic issues such as integrating lower rated work into the system and bringing on overseas offices as yet unused to the colour based "my file not your file" culture ...and at the same time tackle the borrowings issue. There's no easy substitute for Payton who built an empire that the likes of Khan, Rome or the Ottoman's would be proud of. Those traits are rarely seen in the western world today.
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Willow | 13-Dec-2012 7:58 am
Kev IS a Clydes' partner. This is what is known as the 'merged firm'!
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Greta | 13-Dec-2012 8:22 am
It should be an ex-BLG partner for balance. Since Hassan has absolute control of everything, BLG partners have no influence whatsoever. It would give a good signal to have an ex-BLG partner. Clydes needs a fresh start. The obvious person for SP is Sarah Clover. Sarah is by some way the most valuable partner in the London office. What a great signal of change it would give. I may be wrong but I believe - and this is incredible - that every single member of Clydes' very large board is a white male in their 40's and 50's. They are completely out of touch with the firm.
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Four leaf | 13-Dec-2012 1:28 pm
Sarah would redress the image problem the firm has of being on the aggressive side and lacking the team spirit that she has in spades.But outside of Professional Indemnity is she well known enough across the market and does she have experience outside of London - aside from her knowledge of HK of course? That would also allow Richard Harrison some management headroom.
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Anonymous | 13-Dec-2012 10:00 pm
That makes a lot of sense. The only way you follow someone like Michael Payton is by doing something very different.
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Phoebes | 14-Dec-2012 1:51 pm
Doing something different will be essential if this firm is to be viable beyond its recent spate of expansions. The growing balance sheet needs feeding and the insurance market won't be the easiest larder to rely on going forwards. Unless Clydes can diversify (including shedding its silverback persona) into non-insurance areas with more success and somehow extract itself from the less remunerative prizes obtained through the BLG blag, it will increasingly become vulnerable to breakaways lead by partners and teams looking for the levels of profitability that their specialisms merit and which will be diluted by the less profitable practices and expanding central overheads - including property costs both new and residue. Peter Hasson will know this but whether he will be able to team up with a similarly enlightened Senior Partner remains to be seen.
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Heidi | 14-Dec-2012 7:51 pm
The last comment is right on the money. You get the feeling that there is no real strategy on insurance or anything else. Why would commodities/energy lawyers want to work in a firm that does road traffic cases? Hassan has had long enough to formulate a strategy: he needs to show whether he has vision or is just a paperclip counter.
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Anonymous | 14-Dec-2012 7:58 pm
What must be depressing to the candidates is that Michael Payton has not even gone and already people are tearing themselves apart. His presence was talismanic. Should he reconsider his departure date until a Tony Angel style person can be found from outside?
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