DWF has refreshed its senior leadership following a turbulent few months, recruiting a new chairman and deputy chairman.

The listed U.K. law firm has appointed current Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer to the position following a recruitment process, according to a statement by the firm on Friday.

Bloomer has held a variety of chair positions, and was previously a European partner at Cerberus Capital and group chief executive officer of Prudential Group.

He replaces interim chairman Chris Sullivan, who took the role after former chairman Sir Nigel Knowles was appointed CEO following the ousting of Andrew Leaitherland in May.

Sullivan and Bloomer will take up their new roles from 1 August, the statement added.

Knowles said in a statement: "Jonathan joins the board at an important time so his seniority and extensive experience in both executive and non-executive roles across a wide range of businesses will be extremely welcome. Chris will continue to play a pivotal role in listening to and engaging with DWF partners globally and helping to ensure that we maintain strong and effective lines of communication between the partners and the board."

DWF has experienced several rocky months, which led to the departure of Leaitherland after 14 years at the top. He steered the firm to the U.K.'s first ever law firm main market IPO and under his stewardship, the firm has swelled from two U.K. offices to 33 offices across four continents.

But long-running financial issues coupled with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis led the firm to take drastic measures earlier in July, when around 60 members of staff and two offices in Singapore and Brussels were axed.