Maher overlooked in Mayer Brown rejig
Mayer Brown’s London-based vice-chair Paul Maher has been overlooked in the firm’s management rejig with his US-based counterpart winning the newly created role of firmwide managing partner.
Paul Maher
As expected, the firm has elected Bert Krueger as its new chairman as part of a management overhaul that has seen it create a seven member management committee and 12 member partnership board.
London senior partner Sean Connolly has won a position on the management committee while Maher’s co-vice-chair Ken Geller, who is based in Washington DC, is to become the firm’s global managing partner.
The roles will become effective on 1 June.
The new structure replaces a triumvirate leadership structure that has seen chairman Jim Holzhauer and vice-chairs Maher and Geller run the firm along with a 16-member policy and planning committee.
This week’s issue of The Lawyer revealed the new management structure and the fact that the vice-chair role would be abolished (13 April).
According to Holzhauer the changes mark a watershed for Mayer Brown. He said: “The management committee which will have most of the authority now vested in policy and planning will be the small, nimble group needed to respond quickly and decisively to changing market conditions and capitalise more fully on the inherent strengths of our global platform.”
Under the governance structure London-based European real estate head Jeremy Clay has won a place on the partnership board.
Members of the management committee:
Palo Alto partner Cabel Chinnis
London head Sean Connolly
New York partner Paul Jorissen
Paris head Jean-Phiippe Lambert
Hong Kong partner Elaine Yo
Chicago partner Paul Theiss
Chairman Bert Krueger
Members of the partnership board together with management committee:
London partner Jeremy Clay
Charlotte partner Carol Hitselberger
Chicago partner Michelle Odorizzi
Washington DC partner Peter White
Frankfurt partner Jorg Wulfken
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Readers' comments (27)
Anonymous | 17-Apr-2009 7:54 pm
Paul Maher is an immensely talented, energetic, ambitious and driven lawyer who has been the catalyst for much of the growth Mayer Brown enjoyed since the R & M merger. But ambition and drive can easily be the enemies of collegiality and teamwork. The line is unquestionably fuzzy, but there is one. The new leadership apparently concluded, together with a lot of MB partners who left voluntarily over the past two years, that he had crossed it. It's too bad, both for Paul and the firm, that it has come to this. I've no doubt Paul will do well; I'm not so sure about the firm, particularly since by chosing a 61 year old as its next chairman it seems unable or unwilling to pass the leadership mantle to a new generation.
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Anonymous | 17-Apr-2009 10:32 pm
To put a little balance here... Mayer is not what his supporters above would have people believe. He was a divisive person (with an outsized pay packet) in a firm that called out for leadership and collegiality. He delivered none of that (whilst paying himself an enourmous amount of money). His "success" with the London office was based on clients he claimed as his own (even though he stated all clients were firm clients) but most have now left (abeit, in some cases, due to takeovers). Many consider him a difficult (I can't print the real description) person who is not well liked (although he may have some respect), both inside and outside London. He rose on the back of the financial sucess of London (measured in dollar terms), however with the falling pound and disappearing work (not to mention the realisation that London far under performed other London offices) the emperor's clothes have been revealed.
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Anonymous | 17-Apr-2009 11:27 pm
The firm appears to be taking a very rash approach with regard to its management structure; it is less than two years since the leadership troika was put in place and its being abolished already.
Concerning Maher, his future at Mayer Brown looks as if it will depend upon his role; as it currently stands he surely will not stay. If Mayer Brown does not offer Maher a better position then their actions will be put down in History as suicidal.
One does begin to wonder in which direction the firm is heading.
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Anonymous | 20-Apr-2009 2:40 pm
mayer brown's hk strategy is a joke. the combination is anything but a name / empty shell. big deals did not come thru the door as expected. bearing in mind its hk operation is losing throngs of partners and associates over the past months.
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Anonymous | 20-Apr-2009 3:28 pm
Having worked at Mayer Brown for nearly 7 years, I am utterly shocked by the way Paul has been ousted. Paul engineered the merger so it was just that and ensured that London retained its autonomy. Paul Maher is a formidable character; a machine who never sleeps or eats: watching him in meetings is an inspiration. With this following the associate redundancies which people thought the firm would avoid, MB associates are wondering what on earth will happen next.
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Anonymous | 20-Apr-2009 4:43 pm
In response to the comment posted on the 17th at 10:32 there is a need for some truth.
On the subject of Maher's pay is he overpaid for what he does? It is well publicised that there are lawyers of International law firms earning 3-4 million pounds a year. Maher probably earns about a third of this; an amount well deserved for the effort and talent he brings to Mayer Brown. If anything, he is underpaid for what he does.
Concerning Maher's clients, they are all incredibly loyal to him and would be disgusted by the notion proclaimed by this previous blogger. Having worked with Maher for years I can tell you the vast majority of his clients will follow him in whatever direction he chooses take.
Finally, with regard to London it has been well documented that he gave up his position of senior partner in order to focus on the firm globally. Thus the success of London has not been totally in his hands. Despite this London is still one of Mayer Brown’s better performing offices.
Having worked with Maher, I can categorically reveal he is not difficult by nature; just very passionate and energetic.
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Anonymous | 20-Apr-2009 6:35 pm
Not sure why people think posting on an internet blog will help Maher. People should concentrate their efforts elsewhere.
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Anonymous | 20-Apr-2009 6:57 pm
Maher doesn't need help. He clearly has a brilliant reputation, a great client base and a lot of support; something many top firms will pick up on.
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Anonymous | 21-Apr-2009 1:49 pm
Mayer Brown for sure set to fail. Some partners at this firm are full of ego and think they are "the legal brain". Maher, you can do better than this firm!! We miss you, but your good ideas may be better somewhere else than with this bunch of so called "legal brains". According to their decisions they have no legal brains at all.
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Anonymous | 21-Apr-2009 7:19 pm
The problem with Paul Maher is that there comes a time when life gets too short to live with him. He is incredibly talented and clear thinking but like many star players his personality gets in the way. He will certainly leave, why should he stay when he cannot now achieve his ambition? The only reason he stayed in the late 1990s was because he had a chance to do just that. I suspect he may even have a more fulfillling role outside of the law with fewer frustrations. His ultimate fate was inevitable. A shame.
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