Clifford Chance’s global head of litigation and dispute resolution has quit the firm in the wake of a practice overhaul that will see a number of associates laid off in the U.S.

Clifford Chance’s global head of litigation and dispute resolution has quit the firm in the wake of a practice overhaul that will see a number of associates laid off in the U.S.

Mark Kirsch, who has held the global role since early last year, handed in his resignation on Thursday. He has also headed up the firm’s U.S. litigation and dispute resolution practice for the past five years.

In addition, the firm’s New York-based securities litigation co-head, Mark Holland, has also quit the firm, joining Boston-based firm Goodwin Procter.

The departures come as the Magic Circle firm shifts its litigation focus toward regulatory, investigations and white collar crime, antitrust, commercial disputes and international arbitration.

Clifford Chance has elected Washington disputes partner Juan Morillo to take Kirsch’s place as U.S. practice head and is currently deciding when it will hold elections to fill his global role.

In the interim period, the regional group practice heads — Nicholas Munday in the U.K., Martin Rogers in Asia, Fabian von Schlabrendorff in Europe and Morillo in the U.S. — will jointly manage the group.

As a result of the changes, the firm is also reviewing 29 associate roles, with a firm spokesman confirming that a number of job cuts will be made