Slaughter & May hires first COO in shakeup of management structure
Magic Circle law firm Slaughter and May has poached Freshfields chief operating officer (COO) Jill Hoseason as its first ever COO.
Hoseason will join Slaughter & May following almost 14-years of tenure at its rival, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where she served as the Magic Circle firm’s Global COO.
In her new role, Hoseason will take over from Practice Partner David Wittman and Executive Partner Paul Stacey, following their planned retirements this year.
Slaughter & May’s decision to appoint its first COO comes as the firm pushes forwards with the modernisation of its business through a shakeup of its management structure.
The firm is also hoping to save money by hiring professional managers for management positions, instead of hiring senior partners.
The new hire will also help Slaughter & May address its gender imbalance. In 2018, figures from the firm showed that 76 per cent of its partners were men and 24 per cent were women.
The firm is currently aiming to ensure that 40 per cent of its equity partners are women by 2027.