Berwin Leighton Paisner's (BL P) Paris managing partner Antoine-Audoin Maggiar has stood down from the position as the firm revealed it is set to scale back its operation in the French capital.

The move comes after BLP conducted a review of the Paris corporate finance practice in the summer.

Maggiar, who will stay on at the firm in a consultant position "to ensure a smooth handover", joined BLP in 2006 from Slaughter and May – where he was a partner – to launch its Paris base.

The representative office, which aimed to attract international mandates and handle referrals rather than develop its work in France, will now be cut back to become a satellite operation, with City-based senior partner Harold Paisner alone overseeing the outpost.

Maggiar was the first non-British equity partner at Slaughter and May and held a role as senior partner of its Paris office before joining BLP. He is a member of the Paris bar and registered foreign lawyer in the UK.

A spokesperson for BLP said: "BLP has recently completed a review of the corporate finance practice in France. It has been decided the firm should focus on our corporate finance expertise on servicing clients from our offices in London, Moscow and Asia.

"Antoine-Audoin Maggiar will remain with the firm on a consultancy basis to ensure a smooth handover. Harold Paisner will continue to be a partner in the French office once Antoine leaves."

The decision to reduce the firm's presence in France leaves BLP with four fully-operational European offices in Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt and Moscow as well as London. The firm also has offices in Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore.