Four more names have been added to the growing list of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partners who are known to have retired from the partnership, three of whom have quit the firm altogether.

Hamburg corporate partner Dieter Zwicker retired from the magic circle firm in March. He joined Freshfields in 1991 and practised general corporate and commercial law, as well as advising on foreign investments in US property.

High-profile London partner Barry O'Brien is taking up a consultancy role in the magic circle firm in order to avoid his pension entitlement being detrimentally affected by a new scheme introduced on 1 May.

He is head of the firm's corporate finance practice and specialises in M&A and securities offerings.

Meanwhile, London-based Jo Rickard, the firm's former dispute resolution co-head, handed in her notice in July and is also taking advantage of the favourable pension package.

She is set to move to US giant Shearman & Sterling to head up the English law litigation offering. Rickard had been at Freshfields for over 30 years and became a partner in 1981.

In addition, Michael Schutte, the former managing partner of Freshfields' Brussels office, is set to move to Washington DC-based Howrey's Brussels office in early October.

Freshfields partners were given a deadline of 31 July this year to retire or take on a consultancy role if they wanted to avoid being hit by the firm's new pension scheme, which would see their allowances cut by up to 40%.