From Elections to Leadership Pipelines

• Nominations/Appointments Committees are among the four most common board sub-committees across the sector with half of firms now having a committee fulfilling some role in respect of nomination and appointments

• However the scope and influence of these committees varies significantly

PSFI’s 2025 Board Report found that Nomination Committees are becoming a pivotal component of law firm governance.

 Kevin Hogarth, PSFI Partner, said: “At one end of the spectrum, nominations committees manage leadership elections. At the other, they run succession planning, partner admissions, and lateral recruitment oversight. With law firms adopting increasingly corporate structures, the role of the nomination committee is no longer ancillary. It is central to ensuring the future strength and continuity of leadership.”

The Broadening Role of Nomination Committees

In some firms, the committee is only activated during leadership transitions. In others, it plays a year-round role, contributing to:

• Filtering and vetting candidates for senior roles

• Advising on partner admissions and lateral hires

• Overseeing talent development and future leadership planning

Peter Duff, PSFI Principal Consultant, highlights an important shift: “From succession to partner admissions, it is clear nomination committees are doing more, more often. In some firms, nomination committees are now required to reduce leadership candidates down to a shortlist before elections. That’s a significant move away from the traditional open-field partner elections.”

As firms grow in size and complexity, nomination committees can relieve boards of time-consuming processes, allowing them to focus on strategic oversight.

“At PSFI, we help firms think not only about who leads now, but who could lead in five years’ time,” says Kevin Hogarth. “Nomination committees are a natural entry point to long-term leadership development and thoughtful leadership succession planning.”