Speaking at a recent conference, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft restructuring heavyweight and London managing partner Andrew Wilkinson joked that even his wife had started asking him what he is going to do next once the epic Eurotunnel restructuring comes to an end.

What he meant was that he expects there to be plenty of new deals around the corner, but with speculation in the City rife that Wilkinson could leave the US firm once the high-profile project is over, the joke could be interpreted differently.

Wilkinson denies there is any truth in the claims, pointing out that rivals have been predicting his departure for most of the nine years he has spent with Cadwalader in London. However, he does not deny ever talking to anyone else and admits he is unlikely to finish his career at the firm.

One thing that is undeniable is that if he were to leave, it would have a seismic impact on the firm's London offering, which is still largely seen as The Andrew Wilkinson Show.

This reliance on Wilkinson is not helped by the fact that the firm has lost several of his deputies over the years, with James Roome heading to Bingham McCutchen, Richard Gregorian to Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw and Lyndon Norley to Kirkland & Ellis.

And while the office has brought in senior lawyers, including Christian Parker from Norton Rose and Peter Baldwin from Slaughter and May, there is now another departure on the way. James Douglas, who focuses on litigation and arbitration related to insolvencies, is expected to head back to New Zealand in the next year or so.

Douglas' loss alone is unlikely to seriously affect Cadwalader's London arm, given that it knows it is coming and that the restruc-turing market is quiet at the moment, but it will still be a blow to the firm which will want as much capacity as possible given it is perfectly positioned to pick up big mandates when the market revives.

Buoyant markets and high investor confidence have meant significant restructuring instructions have been few and far between over the past couple of years and, Eurotunnel aside, Cadwalader's profile in London has been unusually quiet. Despite this, it has picked up instructions on some of the few high-profile mandates that have come up – including pharmaceutical company De Novo and Schefenacker.

The firm claims Wilkinson has been personally involved in two-thirds of the major European restructurings over the last few years, including MyTravel, TXU and Telewest.

But this is a double-edged sword for Cadwalader. It is that same reputation which also makes Wilkinson top of many people's list for poaching – whether it is a law firm, hedge fund or bank.

As one of the best-paid lawyers in the City, and with an influential position on Cadwalader's management board, Wilkinson says it is inconceivable that he would leave for another law firm. He also claims to be too old to go to a hedge fund. But, as Goldman Sachs' hire of restructuring veteran James Sprayregen from Kirkland in New York demonstrated this summer, the investment banks are keen to pick up top lawyers and are willing to put down multi-million pound packages for professionals with the right contacts.

This all means that while Cadwalader is well placed in London for a great few years, it is also in a rather vulnerable position. The firm will be hoping that any answer Wilkinson gives to his wife will involve an assurance that he is staying put.