Shanghai leader AllBright is to overhaul its structure following the recruitment of a senior lawyer from Lovells.

Lovells former Beijing head Robert Lewis joins AllBright this month and has confirmed plans to push through a modernisation of the Chinese firm's pay and practice model.

Lewis, who in 2007 helped launch Lovells' Sino-Global Legal Alliance with nine local practices, is focusing initially on changing AllBright's partner remuneration system. Currently it places a premium on rewarding business generation, with partners' earnings largely based on how much work originated with them.

Lewis is aiming to modify the system to give greater incentive to provide specialist advice, which is increasingly important as Chinese firms focus on more sophisticated transactional work and take into account the growing strength of the leading Chinese law firms' brands. The new criteria will also be applied to associates.

The shift is expected to draw on the institutional structure of international law firms and is viewed as the next stage of development for China's elite independents after a decade of rapid growth. Notably, two of China's top firms – King & Wood and Jun He – have in recent years moved to incorporate elements of management and remuneration adapted from international law firms.

Lewis said: "As legal work in China has become more complex, specialisation has become increasingly valuable to clients. The Chinese model places a premium on personal relationships, so for leading firms it's about blending that with the power of the brand."