London managing partner Paul Rawlinson, EMEA chair Gary Senior, Latin America chair Claudia Prado and former Paris managing partner Eric Lasry have all put themselves up for election. It is understood that whoever wins would have to step down from their current position.

Mr Leite replaced John Conroy as global chair in 2010 and was handed a two-year extension in 2014 after going unopposed in the firm’s internal elections. In a statement to The Lawyer, he said that the firm should be ready to formally announce the successful candidate by the time of its annual partnership meeting in October.