Mayer Brown Vice Chairman Paul Maher, who had been on sabbatical at the law firm as of last month when he was passed over for one of the firm's new management posts, has provided his official resignation from the firm.
Mayer Brown Chairman Jim Holzhauer told all of the firm's lawyers in a May 15 memo that Maher would be leaving on "a date to be agreed upon." Maher, a London partner who was slated to give up his post next month, didn't respond to an e-mailed request for comment. The firm declined to comment beyond noting that Maher currently is still at the firm.
The two-paragraph memo noted Maher's contributions to the firm and said that the London office will be overseen by senior partner Sean Connolly and executive partner Jeremy Clay after Maher's exit.
The law firm, which was founded in Chicago, announced in April that Herbert Krueger, a partner in Chicago, would become chairman when Holzhauer steps down from the post next month. Holzhauer said in March that he was stepping down for health reasons. In a revamp of its governance structure, the firm also said it was appointing Kenneth Geller, a partner in Washington, D.C., who served as a second vice chairman with Maher, to serve as the firm's new managing partner and eliminating the vice chair positions.
Shortly after the firm leadership changes, Maher said in an April statement that speculation about his future plans was "unfortunate," but that those plans would "likely" include his leaving Mayer Brown. He said at the time in that statement that he was considering "several interesting opportunities" and would take a "short sabbatical leave" from the firm to review them. He said his plans would only involve himself. Still, it's common that top partners take other lawyers along when they move to another firm.
"For the record, I have long been a strong advocate for governance change and fully endorse the new structure," he said in the statement.
