Wragge & Co and Lawrence Graham have set up a new management board for the combined firm, which will be structured around five practice groups when the merger goes live on 1 May.

Four of the five practice group heads will be drawn from Wragges. They are: Richard Bate (real estate); Davinia Gransbury (dispute resolution); Jason Coates (human resources); and Michael Luckman (commercial and projects). LG managing partner Hugh Maule will become group head of corproate, finance and private capital.

The five practice heads will sit on the board alongside Wragges managing partner elect David Fennell, who will become the firm's chief executive. Current Wragges senior partner Quentin Poole will remain in his role while LG senior partner Andrew Witts (pictured) will be chairman.

The board is completed by two non-executives: Helen Owers, former chief development officer of Thomson Reuters; and Alastair Mcleish who has held various roles at KPMG including head of tax and pensions.

Poole said last week that a merger with an international practice or practices is on the cards once the domestic tie-up is in place. The firms are thought to be interested in following the model adopted by Norton Rose Fulbright and Dentons, both of which have expanded rapidly through a series of combinations.

Poole added that discussions with some German practices for a potential union are already underway and that mergers in Canada, Australia, South Africa or the Far East had potential if they were "up for grabs".