Hamedeh Ghobadian, Chief Operating Officer, HFW

HFW has appointed three women to its new 12-strong global management board.

The refreshed board is made up of the firm's practice leaders and includes finance head Elinor Dautlich, construction head Carolyn Chudleigh and chief financial officer Hamedeh Ghobadian, taking the board's female presence to 25 percent.

Prior to the changes, which come into effect as new managing partner Jeremy Shebson and recently re-elected senior partner Richard Crump take up their new terms today (April 1), Ghobadian had been the only woman on the board.

Other board members include corporate head Brian Gordon and litigation chief Noel Campbell, both of whom were reappointed to their roles as practice leaders, and aerospace head Giles Kavanagh and insurance chief Christopher Cardona, who were re-elected as industry group leaders.

Head of energy and resources Alistair Mackie, commodities head Alistair Feeney and shipping head Paul Dean complete the board, alongside new managing partner Jeremy Shebson and recently re-elected senior partner Richard Crump, who start their respective terms today (April 1).

The appointments mark the first time that representatives from HFW's corporate, finance and litigation groups have made it onto the management board, according to a statement by the firm.

Managing partner Shebson said in the statement: "The addition of representatives from our corporate, finance and litigation practices to our management board reflects the success, growth and importance of these practices to the firm globally. We already have one of the market's leading disputes practices and expanding our transactional offering is a strategic priority.

"I am also very pleased that we now have three women on our board. We are deeply committed to increasing female representation at the highest levels of the firm, and I look forward to working with Carolyn, Elinor, Hamedeh and the rest of the board to help drive positive change."

The firm hired seven transactional partners in 2018 and recently launched a transactional practice in Shanghai through a team hire from U.S. law firm Squire Patton Boggs.

Crump has been senior partner at HFW since 2007 and his new term will run until 2022. Shebson was elected as managing partner for a two-year term and replaces outgoing managing partner Marcus Bowman, who is retiring from the partnership.