Slaughter and May has elected M&A partner David Johnson as its second-ever managing partner effective from 1 August. He will succeed current managing partner Deborah Finkler who is due to retire from the partnership at the end of July.
LB understands that Johnson (pictured) has been elected for a firm standard five-year term, in line with senior partner Roland Turnill, who began his five-year term in May 2024.
Johnson is a Slaughters lifer who joined as a trainee in 1991, making partner in 2000. He focuses his practice on public and private M&A, and is a Legal 500 leading partner for upper mid-market and premium deals.
Recent highlights include advising Segro on its €1.5bn recommended takeover of Tritax Eurobox last year and advising GSK on the demerger of its consumer health business to form Haleon in 2022, one of the largest UK demergers in recent history.
Finkler became the firm’s first ever managing partner in May 2022 following a shake-up of Slaughters’ leadership structure. She joined the firm in 1986, becoming partner in 1991. She headed the firm’s disputes and investigations group from May 2013 to April 2017 and is a Legal 500 Hall of Famer in banking litigation: investment and retail, commercial litigation: premium, and financial service: contentious.
During her tenure, she has overseen a period of sustained growth and milestones such as the introduction of ambitious social mobility targets, with the firm aiming to increase its representation of individuals from a lower socio-economic background across its total workforce population to 25% by 2033 from a 2023 baseline of 18.8%.
Her election marked the continuation of female leadership firsts at elite UK firms. Following Georgia Dawson becoming the first female leader at a magic circle firm when elected senior partner at Freshfields in January 2021, and Aedamar Comiskey starting as Linklaters’ first female senior partner in July 2021.
Slaughter and May senior partner Roland Turnill said in a statement: ‘David Johnson is a long-standing partner of the firm and has amassed a wealth of experience during his career. His energy and strategic approach are greatly valued, and I look forward to working with him. I would like to thank Deborah for her outstanding contribution to the firm, first in the disputes practice including as practice stream head, and latterly as our first managing partner.’