Herbert Smith’s head of finance Clive Barnard is standing down one year early after 10 years at the helm


Barnard is being replaced by fellow partner Jason Fox, a renowned energy finance specialist, who is due to take over on 1 April.

His appointment completes the line-up for Gold’s new management structure, which includes new litigation head Sonya Leydecker and new corporate head Michael Walter.

Barnard said that, after Herbert Smith had appointed Leydecker and Walter, he decided that it would make sense to replace him as well.

His achievements during his 10-year term include integrating the finance department with Herbert Smith’s other practice areas and building a client base which now boasts the likes of Société Générale, Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Herbert Smith’s finance practice has always lagged behind the firm’s corporate practice. According to The Lawyer UK 100 Annual Report 2004, the firm’s finance practice ranked fifteenth by revenue, generating £21.9m in 2002-03, behind both Watson Farley & Williams and Berwin Leighton Paisner.