Dundas & Wilson managing partner Donald Shaw has resigned from his position, it was announced yesterday (7 March).

The reasons for his move are unclear, but a spokesperson confirmed that Shaw (pictured) will remain with the Scots leader and return to full-time client work.

The firm has appointed restructuring partner Caryn Penley and real estate partner Allan Wernham to take on Shaw's management responsibilities on an interim basis.

Firmwide chairman David Hardie has confirmed his intention to kick off an new election process for a new managing partner.

Hardie said: "We welcome Donald's decision to concentrate his considerable talent on our clients and to help us to further develop our firm and our strong focus on the real estate sector."

He added: "I will be arranging a managing partner election in due course. We are deeply grateful to Donald for his skilled and dedicated service to the firm over the last six years as managing partner."

The shake-up in leadership comes amid a challenging period for Scotland's leading law firms, which have been hit by the erosion of Glasgow and Edinburgh as professional service hubs but have also struggled to expand across the UK.

As a consequence, leading Scottish firms have made a number of UK merger attempts in recent years, with Dundas last year holding unsuccessful discussions with London practice Bircham Dyson Bell.

In February, McGrigors, one of Dundas' key rivals, agreed a takeover by Pinsent Masons, creating a national practice with revenues of around £280m.

Dundas also last month confirmed that it was set to make a handful of lawyer redundancies after a review of its business.

The 77-partner firm saw revenues rise by 1.6% to £62m in 2010-11, with average profits per equity partner up 2.5% to £325,000.