Linklaters has reshuffled its most senior governance body following the decision of two members of its international management board not to stand for second terms.

Corporate partner Tom Shropshire and litigator Greg Reid took themselves out of the running for election to the board at a patrners meeting last Saturday. 

Christa Band will take over Reid's role covering the London commercial group while London corporate partner Aedamar Comiskey will replace Shropshire when the pair's three-year terms come to an end next month.

Board members are allowed to stand for election twice and serve six-year terms. 

Two other exsiting board members – Alberto Luzarraga in the Americas and Alain Garnier in France – were re-appointed to the body.

There are 16 elected members on the firm's international board, comprising two partners for each practice area. The board meets four times a year and works alongside Linklaters' executive committee.

There have been calls from some at the firm to shrink the international board.

Commenting on the firm's management structure one partner said: "The international board needs shrinking, there is a general feeling amongst partners that we don't need that many elected members. Where there is a common agenda between the international board and ex-comm they will now work together on it, but they will not fully merge."

In June 2013 Linklaters appointed four new members to its international board, including capital markets partner Paul Lewis, who replaced financial regulation chief Michael Kent as the joint representative for the London finance and projects group.

Last year's three other board changes all came in Europe: Dusseldorf corporate partner Klaus Hoenig replaced Eva Reudelhuber; in the Benelux region, co-head of global M&A Jean-Pierre Blumberg took over from Francoise Lefevre; and Moscow senior partner Dmitry Dobatkin was formally appointed as international board member for the Emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) and Sweden region.