Clifford Chance has appointed the head of legal operations at Lloyds Banking Group Sophie Schwass as its new U.K. chief operating officer.

Schwass fills the gap left by the firm's former COO Alistair Johnson, who joined RPC back in June after five years as general manager of the Magic Circle firm.

Schwass has been head of legal operations and COO to Lloyds' general counsel for nearly three years, having joined from Barclays in 2016, where she had been chief of staff.

She had been at Barclays for more than 10 years in total in various roles, having joined the banking group in 2006 as legal counsel in the global retail and commercial banking projects.

In her new role, Schwass will report to U.K. managing partner Michael Bates and global COO Caroline Firstbrook, and will oversee the operational and financial management of the U.K. business.

She will sit on both the U.K. leadership team and global operations group.

Schwass commented in a statement: "Throughout my legal career, I have seen Clifford Chance as market-leading. I am excited to be joining the firm at a time of change in the industry, and look forward to working with the firm's leadership to ensure that the structure and culture of the firm delivers for our clients and our people."

Bates added: "We have always been determined to deliver the best outcomes for our clients, and the pace of the industry today means that we need to continuously improve the way we work. Sophie's experiences and insights will be invaluable as we work to integrate new skills, technologies and ways of working into delivering our world-class legal services."