The architect of the merger that created the £40m London practice HowardKennedyFsi is to leave in the coming months, the firm announced today.

Mark Dembovsky, who joined Howard Kennedy as its first non-lawyer chief executive, was the driving force behind the merger with Finers Stephens Innocent which was completed at the beginning of this year. 

In a statement Dembovsky said: ‘It has been a privilege to have worked for the last three years with very special people on a programme of change that has seen Howard Kennedy and then HowardKennedyFsi take on a focused and game-changing approach to the provision of legal services to its impressive client base and wider market. I wish the firm every success in the future and am sure that it will continue to go from strength to strength.’

Management committee member Craig Emden said Dembovsky 'has made enormous strides working with us to transform our two legacy practices and set us on a path of an exciting future’.

‘We are sad to see Mark go and are sure that he will make a significant and positive impact on whatever he turns his hand to. We wish him well for the future.'

Management committee members Emden and Paul Millett will take over as joint managing partners after a short handover period, the statement said.