Slaughter and May corporate veteran Nigel Boardman will retire from the magic circle firm's partnership next April, after 45 years at the firm.

Rainmaker Boardman joined Slaughters in 1973 and was made partner in 1982, acting as head of corporate between 2001 and 2004. He will step down from the partnership at the end of the financial year and take up a part-time consultancy role at the firm.

During his career Boardman has acted on a host of standout mandates, including winning roles on the mergers of mining companies BHP and Billiton, and defending Marks and Spencer from an attempted takeover by Sir Philip Green.

In 2011, he led a review into the corporate governance at the Rugby Football Union (RFU) following intense media scrutiny of the top levels of English rugby's governing body. The following year, he helped Standard Chartered reach a $340m (£217m) settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services over allegations that it breached US sanctions and hid transactions with Iran.

He told Legal Week: "I'm very much looking forward to it. I'll be working on the same mandates but fewer."

He added that his new role will allow his to focus his energies on his other positions, including as deputy chair of the British Museum and as a vice-president at Save the Children.

Earlier this year, he was appointed as a non-executive director at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, providing assistance in developing the government's industrial strategy.

Earlier this month, Slaughters confirmed the hire of former Serious Fraud Office (SFO) director David Green. Green is joining the firm as a senior consultant on 22 October, six months after his departure from the SFO.