Chief executive of legal group DWF steps down with immediate effect

The chief executive of a major legal group which has a base in Leeds has announced he is stepping down.
DWF, the global legal business, today announcedthat Andrew Leaitherland has informed the board of his intention to step down as group chief executive officer with immediate effect.DWF, the global legal business, today announcedthat Andrew Leaitherland has informed the board of his intention to step down as group chief executive officer with immediate effect.
DWF, the global legal business, today announcedthat Andrew Leaitherland has informed the board of his intention to step down as group chief executive officer with immediate effect.

DWF, the global legal business, today announced that Andrew Leaitherland has informed the board of his intention to step down as group chief executive officer with immediate effect.

Mr Leaitherland will also step down as managing partner of DWF Law LLP and DWF LLP.

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In a statement, DWF said: "Andrew has spent over 20 years at DWF and has been CEO and managing partner of the group since May 2006.

"During his tenure, he has been instrumental in expanding the Group from two offices in the UK to 33 offices across four continents, and achieving the successful IPO of the Group in March 2019.

"In responding to the challenges created by COVID-19, the board believes that strong and experienced leadership is essential.

"The board believes that Sir Nigel Knowles, chairman, will provide this leadership and as a consequence, the board has asked Sir Nigel Knowles to assume the role of group chief executive officer with immediate effect.

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"Sir Nigel has over 40 years of experience in the legal sector, including extensive experience in building a global law firm as CEO and chairman for more than 20 years."

Chris Sullivan, Senior Independent Non-executive Director, has been appointed as interim chairman.

A committee of independent directors has been formed to run a selection process for a permanent chairperson over the coming weeks.

Chris Sullivan said: "On behalf of the board and all our colleagues I would like to thank Andrew for his hard work and commitment over many years; we owe him a great deal and wish him every success in his future endeavours.

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"In these unprecedented times the board believes that Sir Nigel’s extensive experience in building and leading a global legal business will be invaluable as group chief executive officer in ensuring that our strategy delivers sustainable growth and attractive returns for all our stakeholders.”

Andrew Leaitherland said: “It has been a privilege to be group CEO of DWF for nearly 14 years and I am incredibly proud of the progress we have made in that time. It is a fantastic business with great people committed to delivering the best possible service to our clients. I wish Sir Nigel every success in taking the business forward."

Sir Nigel Knowles commented: “I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as the group’s chairman and even more honoured to have been asked now to lead the company as its group chief executive officer. Andrew helped build a great business for which we are very grateful and we wish him the very best.

"Whilst today’s trading update shows there are near term challenges to be overcome, there is a significant opportunity to deliver attractive returns for our shareholders by consolidating the growth achieved to date and building an even stronger global platform centred around DWF’s complex, Mmnaged and connected delivery model.

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"I look forward to working with the existing strong management team to both navigate through the near term challenges presented by the external environment and on executing on our stated longer term strategy."

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