Travers Smith has re-elected senior partner Chris Hale to serve a second term, effective 1 July for two years.

Hale was first appointed as Travers Smith's senior partner on 1 July 2013, having been the firm's corporate head for a decade. He joined the firm in 1983 and was made a partner in 1987.

Commenting on his re-election, Chris Hale said: "It is a great privilege to be re-elected as Travers Smith's senior partner." He added that during his second term he will focus on "providing first-class client service across sectors and practice areas, professionalisation of our support services and the further development of a truly diverse and inclusive culture".

Travers Smith managing partner David Patient said:  "Over the years, Chris has made a huge contribution to our firm and in the past few years, has brought tremendous energy and leadership to the role of senior partner."

Hale specialises in UK and international M&A and buyout work and founded Travers Smith's private equity group in 1996. In 2011, Hale headed up a sector overhaul at the firm that saw it refocus its business around a number of key sectors in a bid to deepen relationships with existing clients and attract new work.

Travers named Patient as its managing partner in 2014. The former Paris office head succeeded Andrew Lilley in January 2015 for a three-year term.

In October, recruitment company Rare hired Lilley as its first full-time commercial director.

Rare specialises in providing companies with diverse graduates from a range of backgrounds. Its legal clients include many of the top 50 law firms in the UK such as Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters.