Shearman & Sterling is to abolish the role of managing partner amid a reshuffle of its top management committee as the New York leader hands more power to its local and international offices.

Insiders at the firm have told Legal Week that the managing partner role, which is currently held by Robert Treuhold, is to be dropped following the creation of a New York managing partner earlier this year.

In January the firm chose John Madden, the former co-head of M&A and head of Europe, to become Shearman's first managing partner for New York.

A spokesman said the role was still under review. However, senior Shearman partners said abolishing the role was now certain.

"The firm-wide managing partner has usually ended up de facto New York head, until we made New York head into a standalone role this year," one partner said.

"All of our other offices had a local managing partner, except New York and this follows our international structure of having strong local management, so there is not going to be a firm-wide managing partner."

The decision has been attributed to a drive to strip down bureaucracy, but also reflects the size of the firm's international network, which includes highly-regarded practices in London and Frankfurt.

The decision to ditch the role comes as the firm prepares to change its main management body – the executive group – which currently consists of senior partner David Heleniak, German managing partner Georg Thoma and New York-based partners Treuhold and Whitney Pidot.

Current Asia managing partner Pidot is to retire in June after 34 years with the firm, while Treuhold, who is stepping down as managing partner next month to take over the Paris office, will also leave the executive group.

Madden will succeed the pair on the executive group giving the body a more international spread.