Robin Lawther

Ashurst has raised the proportion of women on its board to 40%, with the appointment of two new independent directors.

The two new additions are former JP Morgan investment banker Robin Lawther, who will also chair the firm's audit committee, and investment banker Wu Gang, who is currently a senior adviser to Rothschild & Co Hong Kong.

Lawther has previously held a number of other non-executive director roles, including at UK Government Investments, and also chairs the remuneration committee at Nordic financial services group Nordea.

Wu Gang, meanwhile, previously held positions at Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong and London.

The pair will take up their roles from 1 April, replacing David Turner and Robert Gillespie who have served as independent board members since 2013.

Ashurst's board is led by London-based chairman Ben Tidswell and managing partner Paul Jenkins, who splits his time between London and Sydney, with three other UK representatives – corporate partner Karen Davies, real estate capital markets partner Sarah Sivyour and chief financial and operating officer Jan Gooze-Zijl.

The board is rounded out by two Sydney representatives – corporate tax partner Barbara Phair and restructuring partner James Marshall – and Munich global loans head Bernd Egbers.

Tidswell said: "Robin and Wu Gang are highly accomplished individuals with considerable international experience with major organisations. As seasoned board members, their strategic input, breadth of knowledge of different markets and sector-specific expertise will be invaluable to the firm."