Lovells former Continental Europe head Harald Seisler has left the firm six months after running an unsuccessful campaign to become firmwide managing partner.
Seisler (pictured), who stood down from the European managing partner role after he was beaten to the top job by incumbent David Harris (25 November 2008), retired from the firm at the end of its 2008-09 financial year.
Lovells senior partner John Young said that during his election campaign last year Seisler had made it clear that he would retire from the firm if he did not win the support of the partnership.
It is unclear whether Seisler will look for another role.
Seisler’s bid to become managing partner was seen by some within Lovells as an attempt to divide the firm along international lines, with some claiming Seisler was running his campaign on an anti-London ticket (15 September 2008).
Harris was re-elected for a second four-year term as managing partner at the firm’s partnership conference in Vienna last November (17 November 2008).
The Lawyer is too accepting of London management spin. Harald asked too many difficult questions of a mangement team which only cares about the London partners.
One does in fact wonder whether the alleged anti-London ticket was not in fact an anti-outside-London ticket spun by the London management – which started by describing him as being “known for his direct style”, although that is certainly true.