The chief executive of a law firm network has been removed by the company she had led for more than five years.
In a statement, Ampa Group – whose ‘House of Brands’ group includes law firms Shakespeare Martineau, Mayo Wynne Baxter and Lime Solicitors – confirmed that Sarah Walker-Smith had left the business.
Keith Spedding, chair of Ampa Group’s membership and nominations committee, said it had considered the findings of an independent investigation that was carried out following allegations concerning Walker-Smith.
‘Following that process, Sarah has been removed from her position as Ampa Group CEO and expelled from the membership,’ said Spedding. ‘The expulsion decision is subject to a right of appeal. The investigation was conducted independently and in accordance with the group’s governance procedures.
‘We would like to reassure clients and stakeholders that the Ampa Group and its individual brands continue to be led by our managing directors and are operating as normal with no impact on the services we provide to clients.’
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The nature of the allegations has not been revealed. Walker-Smith has yet to respond publicly to the announcement.
Walker-Smith has been at the forefront of the development of the Ampa group, which is an attempt to move on from the traditional consolidation model. Brands in the group are empowered to retain their autonomy while collaborating with each other when the business requires it.
Walker-Smith describes herself on her Linkedin profile as working on ‘strategy leadership, responsible business voice, growth, governance and purpose led change’.
She has written in the past about leadership, saying the notion of a ‘strongman’ was outdated and that the best leaders are able to ‘be purposeful and even ruthless in pursuit of what is right, without losing their humanity’.
Prior to her role leading the Ampa Group, Walker-Smith was chief executive of Shakespeare Martineau for two years and previously the chief strategy and operating officer with Browne Jacobson. She has also held a number of representative and non-executive governor roles, including serving on the board of governors at Nottingham Trent University for six years.
