Ipswich firm Prettys has created new chief executive officer (CEO) and chief operating officer (COO) roles.

Partner Paul Dickie, head of shipping, has been appointed to the CEO role. Dickie joined the firm in 1997 from Clifford Chance, where he was a shipping lawyer.

Partner Matthew Cole, head of the firm’s employment group, has been made COO. Cole also joined the firm in 1997, from Field Fisher Waterhouse, where he was an assistant.

The new positions mark a change of management style at the firm. Prettys’ former managing partner Roland Sharp has returned to a fee-earning role in litigation and a new managing partner will not be appointed.

Senior partner Clive Brinley-Jones will continue until next year when he retires, and the firm has decided that it will elect a replacement.