Key Points
- Pinsent Masons managing partner Laura Cameron is facing two challengers in an election to determine who will lead the firm as managing partner.
- Richard Griffiths, the firm’s head of property, and Helen Corden, its UK head of employment and incentives, have been accepted as candidates alongside Cameron.
- The successful candidate is expected to begin the managing partner term on 1 November 2026.
- The election comes one month after John Maciver is due to succeed Andrew Masraf as Pinsent Masons’ senior partner.
- Laura Cameron has been managing partner since May 2023, following John Cleland’s completion of the maximum two four-year terms permitted under the firm’s rules.
- Cameron previously led Pinsent Masons’ risk advisory services group and became the first woman to serve on the firm’s global board.
- Richard Griffiths joined Pinsent Masons as a trainee in 2002, became a partner in 2012, and is a leading lawyer specialising in energy and infrastructure consents.
- Helen Corden joined the firm in 1998, became a partner in 2017, and specialises in complex employment matters, investigations and disputes.
- Pinsent Masons said that, because Cameron had completed her term, the firm’s protocol required an election process for the managing partner position.
- The firm’s managing partner is responsible for the day-to-day management and operations of the business globally, while the senior partner has ultimate responsibility for leadership.
- The leadership changes follow Pinsent Masons’ financial results showing £703 million in revenue for FY2026, a 3.3% increase, while profit per equity partner fell 7.2% to £740,000.
- Earlier reporting by The Global Legal Post said Andrew Masraf had sought a second term as senior partner, while Jim Cormack KC, Catherine Workman and Wouter Seinen were also understood to have been contenders for that position.
- The firm’s recent strategy has included investment in people, premises and technology, international expansion, lateral recruitment and new technology products.
The leadership contest at Pinsent Masons places incumbent managing partner Laura Cameron against two senior lawyers, Richard Griffiths and Helen Corden, with the result due to determine who will take responsibility for the firm’s global day-to-day management from 1 November 2026. The election is taking place as the UK law firm prepares for a separate change at senior-partner level, with John Maciver due to succeed Andrew Masraf in October. The contest therefore comes during a period of leadership transition for one of the UK’s major international law firms.
Why are Laura Cameron, Richard Griffiths and Helen Corden contesting the managing partner role?
According to Victoria Basham of The Global Legal Post, two candidates have been accepted to stand against incumbent managing partner Laura Cameron in the election: Richard Griffiths, head of property, and Helen Corden, head of employment and incentives for the UK.
The Global Legal Post reported on 24 September 2026 that the firm’s nomination committee had accepted all three candidates. The successful candidate will start the new term on 1 November 2026.
The contest is taking place under Pinsent Masons’ internal leadership process. The firm has introduced a unified election calendar for the senior partner and managing partner positions, which has resulted in Cameron’s current term being shortened with her support.
A Pinsent Masons spokesperson told The Global Legal Post: “As Laura Cameron has completed her term, firm protocol requires an election process to take place for the role of managing partner. We will not be commenting further until the process has completed.”
The firm has therefore confirmed the procedural reason for the election while declining to comment on the candidates or the eventual outcome before the process is completed.
Who is Laura Cameron and when did she become managing partner?
Laura Cameron has led Pinsent Masons as managing partner since May 2023.
As reported by Victoria Basham of The Global Legal Post, Cameron has spent more than three decades at Pinsent Masons. Before becoming managing partner, she led the firm’s risk advisory services group and became the first woman appointed to the firm’s global board.
Cameron succeeded John Cleland, who had completed the maximum of two four-year terms permitted for the managing partner position under Pinsent Masons’ rules. Her own term is being affected by the firm’s subsequent decision to align the election calendars for its two principal leadership positions.
Cameron’s period as managing partner has coincided with investment in the firm’s international platform, technology, offices and people.
In financial reporting published in August 2026, Victoria Basham reported for The Global Legal Post that Cameron said Pinsent Masons had focused during FY2026 on “investing in our people, premises and technology”.
What is Richard Griffiths’ background at Pinsent Masons?
Richard Griffiths is the firm’s head of property and is also described by Pinsent Masons as a leading energy and infrastructure consents lawyer.
According to Pinsent Masons’ published profile, Griffiths joined the firm in 2002 and became a partner in 2012. He specialises in consenting strategies and the delivery of nationally significant projects across the energy, waste and transport sectors. His areas of work include development consent orders, energy and natural resources, environment, major infrastructure projects, planning and property.
The Global Legal Post likewise reported that Griffiths joined Pinsent Masons as a trainee in 2002 and made partner a decade later.
His professional background therefore combines property law with major infrastructure, planning and energy work. Pinsent Masons’ own profile identifies him as Global Head of its Property Group, which includes its Development & Investment, Planning & Environment and Property Litigation practices.
What is Helen Corden’s background at Pinsent Masons?
Helen Corden is the firm’s UK head of employment and incentives and is the second challenger in the managing partner election.
Pinsent Masons’ published biography states that Corden joined the firm in 1998 and became a partner in 2017. She qualified in England and Wales in 2000 after studying European Law with Italian at the University of Leicester.
Her work includes complex and sensitive employment matters, investigations and disputes. Pinsent Masons describes her as an experienced employment specialist who advises clients in both the public and private sectors.
Her recent work also illustrates her involvement in significant UK employment-law issues. In February 2026, Pinsent Masons published commentary from Corden concerning an Employment Appeal Tribunal decision involving pay arrangements following the transfer of hospital cleaners to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
The firm has also listed Corden among its specialists for discussions concerning the Employment Rights Act and other key UK employment-law developments in 2026.
What will happen to Pinsent Masons’ senior leadership in the coming months?
The managing partner election is taking place alongside a change in the firm’s senior partner position.
The Global Legal Post reported that John Maciver will succeed Andrew Masraf as senior partner, with the transition scheduled one month before the new managing partner begins the term.
The senior-partner election was itself contested. According to The Global Legal Post, Masraf, who became senior partner in October 2022, had sought a second term. Other individuals understood to have been contenders alongside Maciver included Jim Cormack KC, head of the risk advisory services group; Catherine Workman, head of the Middle East; and Wouter Seinen, head of the Amsterdam office.
Earlier financial reporting by Victoria Basham of The Global Legal Post confirmed that Maciver, who heads Pinsent Masons’ financial services sector, had been named Masraf’s successor following the contested election.
This means the firm is approaching a period in which both of its principal leadership positions are changing hands or undergoing formal election processes.
What are the responsibilities of the managing partner and senior partner?
The two roles have distinct responsibilities within Pinsent Masons.
According to The Global Legal Post, the managing partner has overall responsibility for the firm’s day-to-day management and operations globally, while the senior partner has ultimate responsibility for the firm’s leadership.
The distinction is significant because the two roles operate alongside each other rather than representing identical positions.
The managing partner’s remit therefore encompasses the operational running of the global firm, while the senior partner has the ultimate leadership responsibility. The forthcoming changes mean that John Maciver is due to take over the senior partner role while the election among Laura Cameron, Richard Griffiths and Helen Corden will determine the next managing partner.
How has Pinsent Masons performed financially ahead of the leadership election?
The leadership election follows the firm’s latest financial results.
In a report published on 19 August 2026, Victoria Basham of The Global Legal Post reported that Pinsent Masons’ revenue increased 3.3% to £703 million for the 2026 financial year. At the same time, profit per equity partner, or PEP, declined 7.2% to £740,000.
The PEP figure had remained just below £800,000 during the preceding two financial years, following increases of 8% in FY2023 and 16% in FY2022.
The financial figures therefore show revenue growth alongside a reduction in profit per equity partner. These figures provide financial context for the leadership transition, although the available reports do not attribute the election to the firm’s financial performance.
What investments and expansion has Pinsent Masons undertaken?
The firm’s FY2026 results also highlighted several areas of investment and expansion.
According to Victoria Basham’s August report in The Global Legal Post, Pinsent Masons opened an office in Warsaw with a six-partner team recruited from firms including CMS and Dentons. It also launched an international delivery centre in Cape Town and formed a joint venture with China Commercial Law, described in the report as one of China’s leading corporate law firms.
The firm also moved into new premises in Manchester, Glasgow and Sydney.
Technology was another area of investment. Basham reported that Cameron said Pinsent Masons had invested heavily in technology platforms through proprietary technologies developed internally and with external vendors.
The firm’s technology initiatives included the rollout of Legora across the firm, as well as the launch of REcapture, a real estate transactions tool, and Portana, an M&A due diligence product.
The firm also promoted 23 people to partner and made 27 lateral hires during the financial year. Those hires included Nicholas Holmes, formerly Ashurst’s equity capital markets practice chief; Dinesh Banani, who joined from HSF Kramer as head of its US securities team; and Edward Smith, a veteran restructuring partner who joined from Travers Smith in London.
Which major matters did Pinsent Masons handle during FY2026?
Pinsent Masons’ financial reporting also identified several significant client mandates.
The firm advised long-standing client Huel on its €1 billion sale to Danone, the international food and beverage company. It also advised on Poundland’s restructuring.
Other matters included advising Royal London Asset Management Property on its £197 million acquisition of Fradley Park, an industrial estate, and acting for AIM-listed Idox on its £340 million takeover by US investment firm Long Path Partners.
The firm’s own published materials also record a range of UK and international work during 2026, including advice concerning infrastructure, employment, corporate transactions and property matters.
These activities form part of the broader operational context in which the new managing partner will take office.
What could the leadership transition mean for Pinsent Masons’ management?
The immediate confirmed development is that the firm’s leadership structure is moving through two linked election processes.
Laura Cameron remains the incumbent managing partner until the current process is completed, while Richard Griffiths and Helen Corden have been accepted as candidates. The successful candidate is due to begin the managing partner term on 1 November 2026.
At the same time, John Maciver is due to succeed Andrew Masraf as senior partner.
The transition follows a financial year in which Pinsent Masons increased revenue to £703 million while reporting a decline in PEP. It also follows a period of international expansion, office investment, technology development and recruitment.
The election process will determine who takes responsibility for the firm’s global day-to-day management as those broader developments continue.
For organisations operating in regulated sectors, the developments also demonstrate the importance of understanding governance, organisational leadership, employment responsibilities and commercial legal frameworks. Relevant professional learning can include Legal, Contracts and Procurement, alongside Management and Leadership, particularly where senior management responsibilities, governance structures and organisational decision-making intersect.