Melbourne IP partner and Chairman of Ashurst Australia Mary Padbury has been elected as the firm's first global vice chair.

Padbury will serve a five-year term under chair-elect Ben Tidswell, who produced a shock result by beating current senior partner Charlie Geffen in a vote earlier this week.

Padbury has been Chairman of Ashurst Australia, previously legacy firm Blake Dawson, since 2005, having served on the board from 1996 to 2000. She has been on the board of Ashurst LLP since March 2012, when the firm adopted the Ashurst name in Australia ahead of a full merger, which will come into effect next month.

Following her appointment, Tidswell said of Padbury: "Mary will play a critical role in the firm's future and I congratulate her on the appointment. Mary's substantial leadership experience as Chairman of Ashurst Australia combined with her intellect, energy and strategic insight will be invaluable to us as we enter this next stage in our development.

"I am thoroughly looking forward to working as a team with Mary to deliver on our goal of becoming a global elite firm."

Padbury added: "I am really excited to take on this role and to get an opportunity to work closely with Ben and James Collis, our Managing Partner, to realise the benefits of the full merger of Ashurst Australia and Ashurst LLP for all our clients and people wherever they are situated across the firm's practice.

"I feel particularly privileged to be part of the team with the responsibility of taking our new merged firm forward."

Elections for the Ashurst board will also take place shortly. The Board will comprise 14 members, including Tidswell, Padbury, managing partner James Collis, independent non-executive members Robert Gillespie and David Turner and CFO Brian Dunlop in a non-voting role.

The rest of the board will feature four elected legacy LLP partners, an elected Asia partner, and three elected legacy Ashurst Australia partners.