Stephenson Harwood is set to become one of the last of the UK's top 50 law firms to convert to a limited liability partnership (LLP).

The City law firm's management will put the conversion to a partnership vote before the end of the current financial year, with chief executive Sharon White saying that while the firm has not been "in a rush" to covert, it was the most sensible structure in 
the long term.

The LLP conversion, which sees firms make their accounts publicly available, limits individual partner liability in the event of a firm-busting negligence claim.

The structure has been adopted by the majority of the UK's largest firms since the introduction of the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000, with Slaughter and May the only other UK top 50 firm that has not yet converted.

White (pictured) said: "We have always been very transparent as a firm. We have never used any tactics to massage our figures either internally or externally, so the added transparency is nothing we are concerned about."

She added that the firm is not looking to push through any other changes to the partnership deed as part of the vote, other than what is required for the conversion to the new legal structure.

She said: "We are not using this as an excuse to revamp – it is purely a housekeeping exercise."