Slaughter and May senior partner Chris Saul will leave the firm next spring when his term at the top ends as rival firm Linklaters also gears up to vote in a new senior partner.

The elections will come amid a series of changes at the management level of the magic circle over the next 12 months as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partners are currently electing a replacement for senior partner Will Lawes, who has been in the role since January 2011.

Saul will retire from Slaughters at the end of his second term on 30 April 2016, it has emerged.

He took on a five-year term as senior partner in 2008 and began a three-year extension in 2013. His predecessor, Tim Clark, served seven years in the position.

The vote for Slaughters' new senior partner, who will serve a five-year term, is slated for early 2016.

Saul joined the firm in 1977 and was made up as partner in the corporate and commercial practice in 1986.

His retirement comes after that of Paul Olney as practice partner at the end of 2014 and Graham White as executive partner in 2013.

David Wittmann became practice partner at the start of 2015, while Richard Clark took up the role of executive partner in May 2013. His term lasts for four years.

Linklaters' partnership will vote for its next senior partner in the summer of 2016, while the vote for the global managing partner position is expected to take place in autumn next year, according to a spokesperson for the firm.

However, they added that the exact dates for both votes have not yet been decided.

Senior partner Robert Elliott was elected in May 2011 for a five-year term, which ends on 30 September 2016. He replaced incumbent David Cheyne, who Elliott had unsuccessfully ran against for the position in 2006.

Global managing partner Simon Davies first took on the role in 2008, replacing predecessor Tony Angel. He began a second four-year term in the post in 2012, which ends on 30 December 2016.