Magic Circle: Slaughter & May poaches first COO from Freshfields amid executive reshuffle
Slaughter & May have nabbed Jill Hoseason, the global chief operating officer of their magic circle rival Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, as their first ever COO, in a leadership shakeup.
Earlier this year Slaughter and May, which boasts more FTSE 350 clients than any other law firm, announced plans to restructure its management team, a move it said was needed “given the growth of responsibilities in this area.”
Hoseason, who spent 13 years at Freshfields, will take up her new position in February.
Her appointment follows an overhaul of leadership at the firm which was first announced in the summer, ahead of the planned retirement of practice partner David Wittmann and executive partner Paul Stacey next April.
Following a discussion between Slaughter & May partners, the firm decided to ditch the long-standing roles of executive partner and practice partner in favour of creating a new managing partner role.
Litigation partner Deborah Finkler was voted into the new position in September and will take up the reins in May 2022.
In the newly created role of managing partner she will adopt the functions of the practice partner, together with the strategic elements of the executive partner’s role while Hoseason, who will report to Finkler, will take on managerial and operational aspects.
The changes come seven months after the firm announced a new target of at least 40 per cent of its equity partner promotions globally to be women by the end of 2027.