CMS Cameron McKenna has begun the second round of voting to elect the firm's next senior partner, with three candidates remaining after Robert Lane was eliminated during the first round.

Energy partner Lane stood against three other City candidates who remain in the running – former managing partner Dick Tyler, banking and project finance partner Andrew Ivison and consumer products head Louise Wallace.

The vote has gone to a second round after no candidate secured the 50% of votes required for a win. The second round will remain open until tomorrow (23 March).

The winning candidate will succeed incumbent Richard Price from 1 May for a four-year term. The candidates are all regarded as strong contenders, with all three already involved in the firm's management.

Former managing partner Tyler led the firm until 2008 when he took up an executive partner role for the CMS network of European law firms. Wallace and Ivison both already sit on the firm's board, and Wallace stood against Duncan Weston for the managing partner role he assumed from Tyler in 2008.

Tyler had previously been pegged as the favourite to win the vote, but it is understood that Wallace – who was reported to have presented strong visions in last week's hustings – also has solid support, and partners view the outcome as still being wide open.

One partner commented: "I just don't know who is going to win it. These are three very good candidates."

Price has been Camerons' senior partner since 2002, when he replaced Bill Shelford. The firm's board extended his term by one year last year to see through strategic objectives at the firm.