PRIVATE PRACTICE Partnerships

It has been a busy week for partner moves, both at home and overseas.London-based firm Warner Cranston has promoted two assistants to the partnership, which now totals 22: commercial property lawyer Richard Chalkley in the firm's Coventry office, and Douglas Rof in the London corporate department.Jo Orlebar-Reid has been promoted from consultant to partner at London firm Zeckler & Co, joining sole practitioner Ariel Zeckler.

She will head up the litigation department.Brian Palmer makes a lateral move from the employment department of City firm Biddle to Charles Russell.

Stephenson Harwood has lost corporate partner Malcolm Hurley through a lateral hire; he joins Ernst & Young's associated law firm Tite & Lewis.

Insurance specialist Peter Driscoll leaves Eversheds' London office for East Anglian firm Mills & Reeves' City office.Meanwhile, City giant Norton Rose has hired two US-qualified partners: telecoms lawyer Mark Naftel joins from Telecom Danmark, where he was assistant general counsel, and IT specialist Michael Rebeiro joins from Slaughter & May.Davenport Lyons has recruited corporate tax specialist Leslie Powell from Richards Butler.

Leaving Lovells is Julia Court, who moves to the construction department of Hammond Suddards' City office.Moving west, Bristol-based Veale Wasbrough has appointed Stuart King - formerly a property partner at Bristol firm Burges Salmon.Heald Heffron has recruited four new partners for its Bedford office from fellow Bedford firm Pictons: Anthony Abraham (commercial litigation); John Thelwall (commercial property and tax); Mike Wills (company/ commercial), and Joe Cox (family and employment).Richard Bailey, formerly a partner in the commercial department of Ironsides' Northampton office, has joined Northampton firm Dennis Faulkner & Alsop as a partner in its commercial department.Jitendra Patel of Edge Ellison's Leicester commercial department has moved to Browne Jacobson's Nottingham office.

Staying in Leicester, Stuart Andrews, an associate in the planning, development and public law department of Marrons, has been promoted to partner.

Back in Nottingham, civil litigator Mark Nattrass and company lawyer Sam Lodh have been made up to partners at Fraser Brown.

Davies Wallis Foyster's Liverpool office has recruited Stan Blake to the partnership.

He was previously the senior corporate tax manager at the Liverpool office of Ernst & Young.In the north-east, criminal and personal injury lawyer Stephen Graham joins the South Shields office of Ward Hadaway from Keenlyside & Forster.On the international scene, Linklaters has recruited three partners: in Warsaw, Marek Wierzbowski joins from the banking and finance department of US firm Weil Gotshal & Manges, where he was senior partner; another banking lawyer, Andrew Godwin, joins Linklaters' Shanghai office from Simmons & Simmons; and in Hong Kong, US lawyer Richard Lucchese joins from US firm Cravath Swaine & Moore.In Paris, City giant Allen & Overy has recruited Smith-Vidal to its corporate department from the Pouget Delsaud Garnier Bachasson.

Allen & Overy's New York office has recruited partner Adam Kupitz to its capital markets department from the US firm Sullivan & Cromwell.

PRIVATE PRACTICE Associates/ assistantsIn the City, Clifford Chance has recruited three assistants from Linklaters & Alliance to its property management unit: Elaine Smith (who will manage the unit), Annette Spicer and Susan Lamb.

Elsewhere, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain has recruited Mark Kendall to its construction team from Davies Arnold Cooper.

Ruth Harvey joins the employment department of Hammond Suddards from Sheridans.

Shipping lawyer Kyriakos Voulgarakis, formerly a partner with Williamson & Horrocks, joins east London firm Shaw & Croft as an assistant.Leaving Clifford Chance for the west country is e-commerce specialist Matthew Bernstein, who joins south-west firm Clarke Willmott & Clarke as an associate.Joining partner Stuart Andrews at Marrons in Leicester (see above) are four assistants: Michael Jones (environmental) arrives from Birkett Long in Colchester; Carl Reid (commercial property) from Fishers in Ashby de la Zouch; Ian Sanders (commercial property) from Wragge & Co in Birmingham; and Bryn Roberts (employment and planning) has been working for Northampton Borough Council.

OTHERAt DLA's Manchester office, David Gray has been promoted to national group head of litigation.

He replaces Neil Micklethwaite, who moves to a board position as head of solutions.City firm Olswang has recruited Stephen Allen as legal support services manager from Clifford Chance, where he carried out a similar role.Southampton University's professor of commercial law, Robert Merkin - a specialist in insurance and reinsurance law - has been appointed a consultant at City firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert.Joining Kyriakos Voulgarakis (see above) at Shaw & Croft is fellow former Williamson & Horrocks partner Brian Williamson, who will be a shipping consultant.Nottingham Law School has appointed Eversheds corporate partner Paul Smith to its board of directors.

Mr Smith is based at the Leeds office of Eversheds.Hastings & District Law Society has elected Angela Reid as president.

Ms Reid, who is head of legal services at East Sussex County Council, replaces Christopher Langdon.Westminster Abbey has appointed Charles Russell assistant Christopher Vyse as legal secretary of the Abbey.