Tech-focused lawyer Robert Shooter is set to take over from Michael Chissick as the managing partner of UK top 30 firm Fieldfisher.  

Shooter, who heads the firm’s technology, outsourcing and privacy practice, will begin on 1 May 2022 following the end of Chissick’s decade in the top spot.

Shooter also leads Fieldfisher’s technology sector team and is a member of its executive committee, having joined the firm in 2002 and making partner four years later. His practice focuses on acting for supplier and customers in the commercial tech space, with the firm saying he is expected to maintain client relationships while carrying out his new role.   

Shooter described his election as managing partner as “an honour”, saying: "It's been fantastic working with Michael. I'm now looking forward to leading the firm into a new era of working with clients and colleagues through a period of further collaboration, integration and growth. It will be an interesting time for the legal industry as client needs continue to evolve. I’m confident that Fieldfisher will rise to the challenge and build on the strong foundations established under Michael's leadership."

Chissick has overseen a period of significant expansion at Fieldfisher, which since the beginning of his tenure as managing partner in 2012 has seen turnover rise from £95m to £290m.

The firm reported its eighth consecutive year of growth in July, posting a 22% increase in profit per partner (PEP) to £860,000 against a 6% rise in revenue to £290m, and over the past few years has expanded into countries including Spain, Germany, Belgium and China.

Chissick joined Fieldfisher in 1995 as head of technology and outsourcing from a role as a partner at legacy firm Hopkins & Wood and prior to that was an associate at Herbert Smith Freehills. 

Of his successor, Chissick commented: "The firm is in good hands with Rob. It has been a privilege to lead the firm through an exceptional period of growth, but it is now time to hand the reins over to the next generation to define the next phase of the firm's development. I have no doubt that the ambition, talent and energy we have at the firm will ensure that Fieldfisher will continue to grow and prosper under Rob's leadership."

Other UK firms to make recent leadership announcements include Osborne Clarke, which earlier this month announced that litigation specialist Peter Clough had been elected to take over from Andrew Saul as senior partner starting next January.

And in September, Magic Circle firm Slaughter and May said it had elected M&A head Roland Turnill to succeed Steve Cooke as its next senior partner when he steps down in May 2024. The news came hard on the heels of Deborah Finkler’s election as the firm’s first-ever managing partner as part of a shake-up in the structure of its executive function that will also see the appointment of a chief operating officer.