CORPORATE solicitor Edward O’Rourke is to take over the helm at regional heavyweight law firm Ashton KCJ in January 2013.

He succeeds Simon Smith who will leave after a successful decade during which, first as managing partner and then as chief executive, he brought the firm through two mergers.

Mr O’Rourke was elected by the firm’s partners who also voted in Mark Merriam as chair of the partnership board and agreed on a new internal management structure. Both the chief executive and chair appointments are for a minimum term of three years.