Two months after partners made the choice to set up a new managing partner position and hand over the title of chairman to another, Spehr succeeded restructuring partner Brian Trust. Spehr, who co-heads the New York litigation group, will be in charge of an administrative center of over 200 attorneys. Brian Trust will continue to carry out his practice from the office in New York.

Spehr hopes to pick Mayer Brown up from the 11% drop that it suffered last year. He says his focus will be on the growth of the New York office in order to keep in line with the one in Mayer Brown Chicago office—which gained some impressive litigation victories, including the December products liability win for Medtronic—as well as the offices in Hong Kong and London. He also aims to continue to build the firm’s litigation practice.

The company has since had to hold out against its own share of bad weather that has resulted in the recent restructuring. In the short time since then, James Holzhauer, the firm’s former Chicago-based chairman, stepped down and allowed Herbert “Bert” Krueger to move up in his place. Vice-chair of the London office Paul Maher followed suit soon after with news of his departure, topping off a two-year string of more than 100 partner defections, to get Greenberg Traurig’s new London office underway. Maher was overlooked for Washington vice-chair as Kenneth Geller took the new managing partner position.

Spehr has a more optimistic view on the new management line. He believes that the new leadership will help make future hiring easier. “I’m very optimistic about both the management restructuring, as well as the firm’s commitment to grow New York,” he says.

As Spehr explores his ideals for more effective decision-making, Mayer Brown continues to make significant changes in their lineup.