Dechert has revamped the leadership structure of its London office, with a view to bringing it on par with the firm's largest locations in New York and Philadelphia.

The US firm is moving from a one-man managing partner model to a four-person office leadership team that will be focused on elevating the firm's position in the market, while an administrator will handle more of the day-to-day operations of the 140-lawyer shop.

Former Dewey & LeBoeuf partner Camille Abousleiman, who heads the firm's international capital markets and emerging markets practice, will serve as chairman of the committee.

Current office managing partner Jason Butwick, an employment lawyer, will also serve on the committee along with financial services partner Gus Black and Miriam Gonzalez, co-chair of the firm's international trade and government regulation practice.

Office administrator George Pantelides will increase his administrative functions, the firm said.

The new committee will take effect from 1 July, the same time that Philadelphia-based Henry Nassau will take over as firm-wide chief executive from Daniel O'Donnell.

"We have experienced a lot of growth in London and it's becoming increasingly clear to us that London is becoming more and more important to the firm worldwide," O'Donnell said.

"It is such a centre for our operations outside the United States that we thought, [while] we are not a geography-focused firm generally… in this case we really do think that London needs special attention."

While the firm rarely likes to operate by committee, the goal in London is to have partners on the committee take advantage of their contacts in their respective markets to promote the firm to talent and prospective clients.

"Having practice leaders in management functions gives new impetus to growth and development," Abousleiman said, adding that he thought his selection as chair was due in part to the recent experience he had with joining the firm about four years ago from Dewey.

Abousleiman said he was sceptical at first of a committee approach despite seeing its advantages, but said the team is too busy to get waylaid with long, theoretical discussions and will simply look to build the firm's brand and depth while Pantelides focuses on administrative matters.

Dechert opened in London in 2000 with 175 lawyers, through its merger with Titmuss Sainer, but has since reduced in size. However, Abousleiman and O'Donnell believe the firm's longstanding presence in London will make building up the office easier.

When asked whether the decrease in attorney headcount over the years was a sign Dechert had some catching up to do, O'Donnell said the firm simply refocused its London office over the years from a base that initially focused on real estate work to one that now handles capital markets, leveraged finance, litigation, international disputes and trade regulation. Those are all areas the firm is looking to expand in the coming years.

Abousleiman said he would like to see more domestic capital markets M&A work in London, in addition to the cross-border work the office already handles.

Nassau said that while the firm does not have a headcount target in mind, he can see the office reaching more than 200 lawyers because that is what the firm has found is needed in key markets like New York and Philadelphia to staff the matters they want to handle there.

"We envision London being every bit as important as New York or Philadelphia," Nassau said.