The changes will see Stewart take over as managing partner next month, with chief operating officer (COO) Kevin Munslow stepping up to chief executive. Both appointments carry three-year terms and are effective from 1 May.
Senior partner Mark Devereux, meanwhile, has been handed a further three years in his current role.
Stewart, a litigation partner who has been on the firm’s management board since 2004, saw off competition from banking head Moni Mannings and media, communications and technology chief David Zeffman to take the managing partner role. He will now chair a new strategy board to oversee the firm’s
Stewart has been head of Olswang’s international strategy since 2004 and was the architect of the firm’s 2005 alliance with
Munslow, who has been COO for eight years, will chair the firm’s management board, which handles day-to-day operations and finances.
Meanwhile, Devereux, who was a founding member of Olswang more than 25 years ago, will focus on external communications, partner performance and senior lateral hires, as well as continuing his media practice.
Commenting on the appointments, Berwin Leighton Paisner managing partner Neville Eisenberg told Legal Week: “The key is to have credibility within the partnership. Being a heavy-hitting M&A partner with big-name clients is one way to get that credibility, but it is not the only way, and it can be built over time. Goldstein was a good leader with a strong personality, but the firm can move on. ”
Michael Frawley, managing partner at Taylor Wessing, said: “It may look unusual for a litigator to be managing partner of a media firm like Olswang, but they have obviously identified David as the right man for the job.”
One partner at a rival firm commented: “It is a management job so you are looking primarily for someone who can manage and interact with people. When Jonathan got that job he had no real reputation as a lawyer but he was an entrepreneur and brought the firm forward in leaps and bounds. The issue now is what sort of firm Olswang will become.”