Denton Wilde Sapte head of advocacy Rory McAlpine has been appointed as the firm's deputy chairman.

The announcement that he will take up the role next February was made internally last week (16 November).

The appointment was made by chairman James Dallas after consultation with the firm's board and comes as Dallas prepares to relocate from London to Dubai next year.

McAlpine, a board member at the firm, will oversee day-to-day management at the firm, while Dallas will continue to fulfil the majority of the chairman's function remotely from Dubai, where he will remain until 2011.

McAlpine is likely to serve in the role at least until the next chairman elections in February 2009 and the appointment could continue should Dallas be re-elected.

The firm last had a deputy chairman between 2000 and 2002 following Denton Hall's merger with Wilde Sapte. Current board member and head of insolvency, Mark Andrews, was appointed as Dallas' deputy, to help on post-merger issues.

Dallas commented: "Even in this age of instant communication, there are certain duties that I will not be able to perform from Dubai, and it is for this reason that I have asked Rory to take on the role."

Dallas' move to the Middle East has been widely viewed as an attempt to demonstrate the region's strategic importance to the firm. Dentons has offices in Oman and Abu Dhabi and recently opened offices in neighbouring Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The news coincides with the re-appointment of Dentons' chief executive Howard Morris, who was handed a second three-year term at the helm earlier this month following an uncontested election. His new term will begin in February 2008.