The head of legal at Deloitte & Touche's Paris law arm has dramatically quit the firm, citing concerns over regulatory pressures facing accountancy-tied firms.

Francois Poitrinal handed in his resignation to the 250-lawyer Deloitte & Touche Juridique et Fiscal in April after two and a half years as overall head of legal for France, Spain and Portugal.

Poitrinal, who is quitting law altogether, told Legal Week: "I have no problems with Deloittes. I left because I wanted a change of profession. Generally, the [US] Sarbanes-Oxley Act and French legislation are making many people rethink their professional avenues."

The move comes at time of growing pressure on France's tied law firms, which have been hit by the US regulatory clampdown on the services they can offer audit clients and the threat of tougher legislation to come in France.

Poitrinal joined Deloittes in 2000 after his 40-lawyer M&A boutique Poitrinal & Associes merged with Deloittes' local law arm.

His departure is also the latest upheaval for Deloittes' senior management in France following the return of Deloittes' overall French head Peter Parson to London to head up the UK tax practice.

In addition, partner Didier Novella, who was appointed to replace Poitrinal as French head of legal, has already quit the management role after just four weeks.

The firm has now appointed partner Antoine Morterol to head up a five-member management committee that is to run the firm.

The committee is also drawing up a strategy to deal with the accountancy reforms, which are expected to follow recommendations in last year's Bouton report into auditor independence.