Clifford Chance (CC) is set to kick off the first round of its senior partner elections in the coming weeks after three partners announced their intention to stand for the role.

German M&A and corporate finance partner Daniela Weber-Rey has most recently entered the race, after City finance partner Malcolm Sweeting announced in an email to the firm's partnership last month (9 August) that he would stand for the position.

The first candidate to emerge was London tax partner Jonathan Elman, who announced his intention to run earlier in the summer.

Among the partnership, longstanding Paris head Yves Wehrli had emerged as an early favourite with support both in London and internationally, but ruled himself out in an email to partners on 9 August.

Other potential candidates cited during early soundings included City-based global finance head Mark Campbell, who is also understood not to be interested in the role.

Current senior partner Stuart Popham, who has leveraged his business and political connections to boost the firm's profile during his tenure, will be viewed as a tough act to follow when his second four-year term in the role finishes at the end of this year.

The firm will open up its formal nominations process next week, with partners invited to submit up to five names of partners they support for the position. A maximum of five partners that receive the most nominations will then stand against one another in the first round of elections, provided they all want to run.

If one partner receives more than 50% of the votes, he or she becomes the firm's new senior partner – otherwise, the top three go through to a second round.