CMS shakes up leadership as Adrian Bell takes over
Adrian Bell will take over as managing partner for CMS in the United Kingdom next April, succeeding Stephen Millar after his eight-year tenure concludes. Bell currently serves as co-head of the global practice covering infrastructure disputes, construction matters and energy litigation.
Since joining CMS in 2002, Bell has held various leadership positions across the firm. He previously worked as joint managing director, overseeing operations in the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East starting in 2017. In that capacity, he guided office launches in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh while establishing the Brisbane location in 2019 to formalize Australian operations. His four-year appointment comes as the UK division reported revenues of 779 million pounds with 6 percent growth in financial results released during July.
Millar will return to his corporate practice focused on oil and gas after completing his leadership role. He competed against Charles Currier for the senior partner position in 2023 but did not win the partner vote. Recent months have seen leadership transitions at several UK firms, with TLT naming Andrew Lyon as senior partner in June and Slaughter and May selecting David Johnson as managing partner during August.
