Allen & Overy has re-elected Wim Dejonghe as senior partner for a second four-year term.

Dejonghe fought off competition from banking co-head Philip Bowden to retain the role. It will be his second term in the position, after being elected in 2016 to replace David Morley.

Prior to that, Dejonghe had served as the firm's managing partner for two terms.

Dejonghe said in a statement: "It is a great honour and privilege to be re-elected to this role for a second term and I would like to thank the partners for placing their trust in me to continue to lead the firm.

He has spent nearly two decades at A&O, having joined the firm in 2001 as a partner in its corporate and M&A team. He was later appointed Belgium managing partner before being elected to global managing partner in 2008. He also previously co-headed the firm's global corporate practice.

Dejonghe has overseen strong financial growth at the firm during his current tenure in the role. The firm grew its top line by 5% to hit £1.627 billion ($2 billion) for the 2018-19 financial year.

He also played a major role in the firm's merger discussions with U.S. firm O'Melveny & Myers, though the talks collapsed in September.

A&O will appoint a new managing partner later this week, as incumbent Andrew Ballheimer readies to retire at the end of his term in April, after over 30 years at the firm.

Contenders for his role include global litigation head Karen Seward, Hong Kong managing partner and APAC regional banking head Vicki Liu, Belgium managing partner and global corporate co-head Dirk Meeus, and global projects head and energy co-head Gareth Price.