Lovells’ Seisler steps down as Euro chief after bid for top spot fails
Lovells Continental Europe head Harald Seisler (pictured) has stepped down from the role after running an unsuccessful campaign to become firmwide managing partner.
As reported on TheLawyer.com (17 Nov 2008) Seisler’s bid to win the top job failed when the firm voted in favour of incumbent David Harris at its recent partnership conference. Harris will begin his second four-year term at the helm at the beginning of May next year.
Seisler, who will remain a partner in the firm’s Frankfurt dispute resolution practice, was also coming to the end of his term as European managing partner, with the election for the post due at the end of January. Until then regional chief operating officer Axel Koelsch will take over Seisler’s management duties.
Senior partner John Young thanked Seisler for the contribution he has made as European managing partner, adding: “Harald has carried out his role with distinction and made a significant contribution to the firm during his long period in management, starting even before the merger in 2000.”
Prior to becoming a Lovells partner, Seisler was de facto managing partner of German firm Boesebeck Barz & Partners, which merged with Droste in 1997 before Boesebeck Droste merged with Lovells White Durrant in 2000.
Seisler has been a member of Lovells’ international executive since 2000, taking on the job of Continental Europe head in 2005 when the firm merged its regional managing partner roles for Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Germany.
Known for his tough stance on performance management, Seisler’s tenure has seen the firm’s European practice move into a position of strength.
Readers' comments (4)
Anon. | 26-Nov-2008 10:56 am
Harald was standing down anyway
This had nothing to do with the managing partner election.
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James | 26-Nov-2008 11:31 am
Seisler
Seisler's term as Europe head was due to come to an end and there is nothing to suggest he was going to stand again, so his stepping down is not particularly untoward: idling out his last two months after the managing partner election defeat would have been painful.
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Anonymous | 26-Nov-2008 4:36 pm
Standing Down
We all know the reasons for this and they have EVERYTHING to do with the management election.
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Anonymous | 27-Nov-2008 11:08 am
The fun starts..
There's nothing to be read into Harald's resignation. He said clearly he wouldn't carry on in the firm if he wasn't elected managing partner. The question is who will be his successor.
According to press reports, all the serious candidates are Germans. And there is a degree of annoyance (not quite hostility) amongst German partners about how annoyed (if not quite hostile) London partners were about someone daring to challenge David.
The biggest job for David will be to sooth the wounded pride of German and continental partners before some of them start looking round for firms that are serious about tackling a lack of meritocracy in a London office.
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