New York's Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson has overhauled its core corporate practice by ditching its current one team structure in favour of seven specialist sub-groups.

The move sees the US firm abandon its traditional generalist corporate model to divide its respected 120-lawyer practice into seven streams: M&A, asset management, finance, private equity, capital markets, international and corporate governance.

Previous corporate chair Robert Schwenkel stays as overall head, while also heading up the private equity group. The firm's co-managing partner, Valerie Ford Jacob, is leading the capital markets group and jointly the corporate governance team with Lois Herzeca and Matt Morley.

Jacob told Legal Week: "The size of our corporate practice has grown significantly over recent years and to address that we formed specific practice groups."

The remainder of the groups are headed by Lawrence Barshay (asset management), Warren de Wied and Stuart Katz (M&A), William Reindel and Arthur Kaufman (finance) and Joseph Stern and London managing partner Robert Mollen (international).

Earlier this year the 520-lawyer firm's corporate department was rocked by the departure of veteran M&A rainmaker Stephen Fraidin and fellow corporate partner Thomas Christopher, who both quit for the New York arm of Kirkland & Ellis.

However, Fried Frank has also moved to regain the momentum lost after the end of its long-running merger talks with Ashurst Morris Crisp in May and several other defections from its finance team.

Fried Frank remains one of the top M&A practices outside the elite band of Manhattan firms that include Cravath Swaine & Moore, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.

"[The new structure] means that our clients will receive a more efficient service and will also help in providing better training for younger lawyers," Jacob added.