Wedlake Bell has elected a new senior partner, with corporate insolvency specialist Martin Arnold taking on the role after a contested vote.

Arnold (pictured), who has spent his whole career with the City firm since joining in 1987, stood against property litigator Simon Freeman and media practice head Andrew Joyce to assume the role for a five-year term.

He has replaced David Earl, who has held the post since 2005 and has now returned 
to practice in the firm's property team.

Arnold, who made partner at Wedlake in 1996, will continue to handle some fee earning alongside the senior partner role, which he assumed last month (1 April).

He commented: "Having spent my entire career with Wedlake I saw this as my opportunity to drive the firm forward. The key message is that I want to make sure the firm is firmly there in positioning itself in the market, being more proactive in engaging with clients.

"We are seeing an increasingly competitive market, facing a number of challenges including the economic situation, as 
well as the impending legal services reforms."

The firm, which has also re-elected managing partner Philip Matthews for a new term running until 2014, last 
year added its first non-executive director to the board with Management Consulting Group chief executive Nick Stagg joining as an external business adviser.