Corrs Chambers Westgarth last Friday told staff about who had made the coveted step up to partner — just three, a particularly low number of internal promotions at one of the country's most prestigious law firms.

Alexandra Feros, a capital markets and mergers senior associate, Alistair Newton, a competition law expert, and Anna White, a planning law specialist, all made the cut.

But there is growing restlessness among the troops, mostly aimed at Corrs’ new chief Gavin MacLaren. He’s apparently made it clear that internal promotions to partner will be much harder.

Corrs’ new CEO Gavin MacLaren. Credit:Michelle Smith

Before arriving at Corrs’ Collins Street Melbourne office, MacLaren worked at Singapore-based Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Prior to that, he was a partner at Sydney rival Allens for a decade. So, unsurprisingly, there's now angst among some senior associates eyeing off a partnership after MacLaren started hiring Allens staffers in recent months.