SLATER and Gordon has said company chief executive David Whitmore will step down from his position after the firm set out plans to split its business in two, with a view to separating its "essential" and "specialist" legal services segments.

The law firm said Whitmore - who took up his CEO role in

January 2018 - will transfer to a new, non-executive position this summer, as it said current chief financial and operating officer Nils Stoesser will take up the chief executive position on Friday 1 July.

The leadership shakeup comes after both Whitemore and Stoesser took up roles in the firm in 2018, after New York hedge fund Anchorage Capital acquired the UK business, following its split from its Australian listed parent company.

However, a Slater and Gordon spokesperson denied the firm is in talks for any future mergers amid rumours of a potential acquisition by Irwin Mitchell.

Under Whitmore, Slater and Gordon pursued an "aggressive" techfocused growth strategy that saw the firm make a number of acquisitions.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper