Slaughter and May’s head of competition Malcolm Nicholson has left the firm to join the Competition Commission. 

Nicholson has been head of competition at the City firm for 15 years. He is to be replaced in the management role by London competition partner Philippe Chappatte. 

It is understood that the Competition Commission job is part-time.

Nicholson’s recent work includes advising BHP Billiton on the competition aspects of its £40bn bid for rival miner Rio Tinto last year.

A former star of The Lawyer’s Hot 100, Nicholson also acted for longstanding Slaughters client MyTravel on its merger with Thomas Cook in 2007. 

As a panel member of the Competition Commission, he will take a considerable pay cut from Slaughter and May, where partners earn upwards of £2m a year.

He will be paid pro rata receiving a daily rate of £350, with no pension, gratuity or allowance on termination.

Competition Commission chairman Peter Freeman said: “I welcome Malcolm Nicholson to the Commission, where he’ll contribute greatly to its expertise and authority.”

Nicholson’s term as reporting panel member will last for eight years from May this year to April 2017.