Addleshaw Goddard has confirmed Adrian Collins and John Joyce are the sole candidates to stand for the firm's managing partner election next month.

Nominations for the election process closed today (16 April), making way for a month of hustings. As previously confirmed by senior partner Monica Burch, the vote will take place in mid-May.

The election follows current managing partner Paul Devitt's (pictured) intention to stand down a year ahead of schedule. The successful candidate will serve a three-year term.

Devitt's decision not to stand for re-election – communicated to partners via an internal email on 14 March – brought forward an election process originally timetabled to begin in September.

Addleshaws stated that his move would avoid "a drawn out hustings" and allow Devitt's successor to participate in the launch of the firm's next five year strategy, which will be drawn up this summer.

Other reasons cited by the firm for the decision include helping to "build momentum" entering that phase and ensuring "certainty over our managing partner for the next 3 years, from the beginning of the coming financial year".

The two candidates both have management and governance experience at the firm.

The London-based Collins, who was real estate division managing partner and a governance board member between 2009 and 2013, joined the firm in 2000. Joyce, who joined the firm in 1998, currently sits on the governance board and has been head of business support and restructuring since 2007.

Devitt's decision to stand down last month coincided with an embarrassing series of admissions by Addleshaws. These involved the firm publicly acknowledging that it miscalculated the number of points available to partners for profit share and the cost of launching in Hong Kong.

Speaking to Legal Week last month, Burch confirmed profits will be down for 2013-14, which she attributed to a year of investment.

"The election concludes mid-May, and Paul's successor will then have the opportunity to input into the new strategy over the summer with the board and with partners," Burch said.

"Paul is stepping down early as we need to have a new managing partner in place to steer and oversee the implementation of the new strategy."