Norton Rose is losing its respected three-partner Paris insurance team as the firm gears up for an overhaul of its French management team.

The top 10 City firm has confirmed to Legal Week that Paris-based insurance partners Christian Bouckaert, Pascal Ormen and Remi Passemard resigned earlier this month.

The resignations follow prolonged tensions between the team and Norton Rose and precede the appointment of a new managing partner in Paris, finance expert George Paterson.

"This is a very tight-knit team which wishes to pursue independent goals," said Norton Rose chief executive Peter Martyr.

Paris insiders have predicted that a number of associates will move with the partners, although this was denied by Norton Rose.

Commenting on Paterson's new role, Martyr added: "[He] will provide strong leadership for the planned expansion and development of the office, ensuring as a strategic priority that all the teams are fully integrated into the wider firm."

The combined departures leave Norton Rose's Paris arm, which has been without a full-time manager since the retirement of Paris managing partner Tim Howard in the spring, with six French partners and three UK-qualified partners.