Howard Kennedy has overhauled its management structure and appointed a chief executive for the first time, as senior partner Trevor Newey steps down from his role as senior partner.

Mark Dembovsky joins the firm today (10 January) from his role as chief executive at City outfit Dawsons, marking Howard Kennedy's first appointment of a non-lawyer to its management.

Dembovsky joined Dawsons in 2010 from a position as chief strategy officer at Reed Smith. He took up the role at Reed Smith in 2001 following its merger with Warner Cranston in 2000, where he had been chief executive for four years and played a key role in the merger.

Newey has been at Howard Kennedy for nearly 40 years, almost half of which have been spent in the role of senior partner.

Executive board member Michael Harris said: "When we started the process of looking for someone to replace Trevor we took advice from a number of advisers and it became clear for firms of our size and calibre that appointing an experienced professional non-lawyer chief executive was the best way to take us forward.

"One of Mark's initial tasks will be to review the internal structure of the firm and as part of this, the possibility of having a senior partner role may be considered."

Following Newey's change of role, the firm will have a three-member executive board which will work alongside Dembovsky in managing the firm.

Howard Kennedy is also considering converting to limited liability partnership status, and expects to make the change in the next one to two years.