PRIVATE PRACTICEPartnershipA busy week in the north-west, with Manchester and Liverpool firm Davies Wallis Foyster unveiling six new partners: Ron Farrell (construction) from Jones Maidment Wilson; Emma Harvey (employment) from Cartwrights; Richie Irvine (asset finance) from Shakespeares; John Lambe (dispute resolution) from Bermans; Paul Mason (property) from Addleshaw Booth & Co; and John Walsh (banking and PFI) from Hill Dickinson.

In Liverpool, Bullivant Jones has made up three partners: Simon Felce and Richard James in the property team and litigator Ralph Bullivant.Top Manchester firm Pannone & Partners has recruited commercial property partner David Leviten from Beachcroft Wansbroughs.

Mr Leviten is taking a number of 'key' clients with him, including the Seddon Group.

North-west firm Brabner Holden Banks Wilson has appointed John Boydell as the principal corporate partner in its Preston office.

Mr Boydell was most recently a sole practitioner, non-executive director of a number of local companies and the founder of an IT company.

Further south, East Anglian firm Ashton Graham has made up three partners: Rob Adam (litigation), Richard Foyster (personal injury) and Matthew Potter (employment).Peter Elliott, former legal and risk director at Burmah Oil, has joined Oxford firm Linnells as a company/commercial specialist and its 19th partner.

The move follows BP's takeover of Burmah, which Mr Elliott oversaw.

The biggest move in the City last week was Christopher Rees, former managing partner of Bird & Bird, becoming head of IT at Herbert Smith.

Most recently, Mr Rees co-headed Bird & Bird's market-leading IT practice.

Barlow Lyde & Gilbert has brought in aviation partner Jeremy Shebson from Clyde & Co.

Finers Stephens Innocent has boosted its top media law team with partner Chris Parkinson, who joins from Hammond Suddards Edge.

Rakisons, the firm which famously failed to merge with Finers Stephens Innocent and is now in advanced merger talks with US firm Steptoe & Johnson, has hired corporate and commercial partner Rex Nwakodo from Jeffrey Green Russell.

David Judah, Rakisons' corporate head, joined from Jeffrey Green in March.

James Stewart has left Stephenson Harwood, where he was a senior solicitor, to head the financial team in Reynolds Porter Chamberlain's family law department.Niche firm Jones & Warner has made up employment lawyer Ann Bevitt - a one-time barrister - as its fourth partner.

Marc Wassermann is to transfer back to the London office of US firm Sidley & Austin following the decision of Robert Plehn to leave and join ING Barings as head of European securitisation.

ING is a 'key securitisation client' of Sidleys.

Mr Wassermann is currently head of the firm's Washington DC securitisation practice and was in London in the early 1990s.

North-west London firm Hodders has made up property lawyer Sherine Silva to partner.

PRIVATE PRACTICEAssociates/AssistantsSimon Westrop, formerly head of compliance and legal affairs at Carlton Television, is joining the media team at Birmingham firm Wragge & Co as an associate.

Iain Cobbett has left the partnership at City firm Rosling King to join the commercial insurance team at Hammond Suddards Edge as a senior assistant.

In addition to three new partners (see above), Bullivant Jones has promoted property lawyer Bill Chandler to associate and brought in two new commercial property assistants: Louise Blythen from Halliwell Landau in Manchester and Amrick Saggu from GS Sira in Lichfield.

Rakisons has boosted its communications team with Australian lawyer Dudley Kneller, who joins from Kelly & Co in Adelaide.

City firm Macfarlanes has recruited Patrick McGrath as a senior assistant in its debt finance team.

He joins from Clifford Chance.

Leaving the City following what he called a 'lifestyle decision' is commercial lawyer Daniel Bastide, who is swapping Slaughter and May for the Horsham office of top south-east firm Thomas Eggar Church Adams.

OTHERClifford Chance partner Andrew Taylor has joined Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank, as managing director and general counsel with responsibility for the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific.

He will report to Frank McGarahan, Barclays Capital's global head of legal and compliance, and Howard Trust, Barclays Group general counsel.

Rakisons' recruitment spree (see above) continues with the appointment of Lubna Azhar as a consultant to both the corporate and communications departments.

She was previously in-house at Big Five accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers.

CORRECTIONSPaul Large joined James Chapman & Co from Praxis, formerly Hammond Suddards' liability insurance litigation division, that was sold off in May, not as stated in [2000] Gazette, 19 October, 9.

In addition, there is no suggestion that Hammond Suddards Edge's national insurance team has or is closing down; indeed it has just expanded (see above).

We apologise for the error.

Andrew Mills-Baker is still chief executive of Farrer & Co and has become chairman of the Axxia Systems Users Group, not as stated in [2000] Gazette, 26 October, 10.