Clifford Chance's (CC) new global corporate head Guy Norman (pictured) will have a sizeable in-tray when he takes over from managing partner elect Matthew Layton in May.

Not least of his problems will be reinvigorating the firm's once stellar, now dwindling private equity practice. The apparent malaise affecting the practice was brought into stark relief earlier this week when Kem Ihenacho became the third partner in less than a year to leave for Latham & Watkins.

"Kem's departure is quite telling of the lack of foresight on succession planning the private equity practice has," said a source close to the firm. "If Guy gets the role I think he'll certainly have to work on fixing this, given how much its reliance on personal relationships has cost them."

Ihenacho was one of the firm's remaining contacts for key private equity client Carlyle after former practice head David Walker upped sticks for Latham last April. Fellow partner Tom Evans followed suit five months later.

CC has unfortunate past form for struggling to keep hold of its star performers in the corporate practice, with the 2009 loss of private equity partner Adam Signy to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett a prime example. Funds chief Jason Glover followed a year later, while a four-partner funds team joined Weil Gotshal & Manges in 2011.

"Norman is not playing with a strong hand," adds another former partner. "US firms are on the rampage at the moment and have upped their attempts to poach key players.

"CC is doing a good job at the moment in terms of M&A. While the private equity team is relatively small, and still has good junior partners, Guy will need to rebuild the practice. He needs to look at securing most of the senior partners in the practice."

CC's London corporate chief Simon Tinkler shrugs off suggestions the department is thin, even in private equity. "Obviously Kem's move was disappointing. But in terms of our practice we have maintained our scale. We have more partners doing private equity work than we had in 2011 and we have several good associates coming through. We can absorb the loss."

The firm has 11 partners in its City private equity practice. Since 2012, three private equity associates have been made up: Caroline Sherrell, who holds the relationship with Permira alongside David Pearson and incoming global managing partner Matthew Layton; Nicholas Hughes, who represents Actis; and Melissa Fogarty, who has ties with Electra.

Tinkler says that lawyers will not be made up outside of the usual timeframe, adding that he does not expect to look for external recruits either.

He adds: "Succession planning is crucial in any team that is successful in the long term and we believe the breadth of experience amongst our private equity partners holds us in good stead. We have senior, experienced partners like Matthew Layton, David Pearson, myself and Jonny Myers; partners who have been made up in the last 6 years, along some strong associates too."

But with private equity a relationship-driven business, Ihenacho's ties with Carlyle and Bridgepoint in particular could hurt the firm's standing with those clients.

"The issue is it's such a relationship-oriented business, and losing some of these partners can effectively mean the loss of a client," comments a private equity partner from a rival firm. "[But] CC's a big firm and my guess is they'll be fine."

Tinkler insists that the firm's client links have not weakened as a result of the departures in London. He points to Sherrell's roles last month acting for the Carlyle's new oil and gas fund on their investments in Discover Exploration and Varo as evidence the links with the private equity house remain strong.

One former CC partner says: "I think the practice will always have its core business from embedded institutional relationships. But it needs to find a way of refocusing. The big names are melting away and the core team is struggling to get the meaty mandates."

Following Ihenacho's exit, some eyes are on Amy Mahon, who is seen as being cast in the same mould. The partner, who has strong ties to Macquarie after a two-year stint with the bank, was made up as partner a year later than Ihenacho.

Other sources suggest the practice could recuperate significantly if partner Simon Cooke, who relocated to the Hong Kong office in 2009, were brought back to the City.

Norman's ascension to the top spot was widely seen as a fait accompli as soon as he put his name forward, but one ex-partner believes that the uncontested election "speaks of a lack of obvious candidates for the position".

Within the firm, Norman seems a popular appointment, given his experience across the department. One partner comments: "Guy offers broader appeal as a lawyer from a more corporate background, as opposed to a more niche area such as private equity.

"He is personable, good at managing people and building connections, and has a strong network of relationships both internally and with clients."

But should CC's rivals continue to cherry-pick partners, turning round the private equity practice could still prove a major headache for the incoming boss.