Moving OnPRIVATE PRACTICE PartnershipA flurry of partner promotions last week was led by City firm Trowers & Hamlins, which made up three partners, two in the Middle East, taking its total to 66: Sara Hinton (corporate finance) in Cairo; Roger Clarke (banking and finance) in Oman; and Philip Peters (commercial property) in London.

Birmingham firm Martineau Johnson has promoted two associates - Enid Armstrong in corporate and Simon Coghlan in property - taking the total number of partners to 41.

In Bolton, Keoghs last month raised its total number of partners to 25 when it promoted insurance claims experts Claire Pearson and Deborah Watson.

The firm also promoted five associates (see below).

Commercial litigator Guy Lightowler becomes the tenth partner at Stockport firm Gorvin Smith Fort.And in the City, litigator Phillip D'Costa became a partner at The Bower Cotton Partnership, taking the total to five partners.

Property specialist Wayne Smith joins Nicholson Graham & Jones from Druces & Attlee, where he became a partner in 1988.Charity lawyer Ann Phillips has left Stephenson Harwood to join Bath firm Stone King's London office.

Michael Ellis has joined the admiralty team at City-based Holmes Hardingham Walser Johnston Winter from the Salvage Association, where he was general manager.

US real estate lawyer Mark Eagan is moving from the New York office of US firm Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker to London, taking the firm to five partners there.A management reshuffle means that Andrew Linden has become managing partner at Leeds-based Nelson & Co.

In May, Keith Nightingale will succeed Mark Overend as senior partner.

PRIVATE PRACTICE ConsultantsFormer Ince & Co partner Andrew Goldsworthy has joined City-based niche marine practice Holmes Hardingham Walser Johnston Winter as a consultant.Andrew Pike, former national head of construction at Birmingham-based Pinsent Curtis, has joined the Oxford office of Morgan Cole as a consultant.

PRIVATE PRACTICE Associates/AssistantsIt is all happening in the north-west.

Bolton-based Keogh's five newly promoted associates are: l Phil Kenyon (personal injury); l Rachel Senior (private client); l Lis Shrimpton (personal injury and fraudulent claims); l Billie Jean Whitaker (fraudulent claims); and l David Wynn (employers' and public liability).

Two promotions at Stockport-based Gorvin Smith Fort: Andrew Cusworth (estate planning) and Leigh Miller (clinical negligence) both become senior associates.

Meanwhile, personal injury lawyer Nicola Lunt has been promoted to associate at Manchester-based Donns.

Also in Manchester, licencing solicitor Dawn Crew has joined Elliotts from Hill & Co in Altrincham.

Mair Hill has joined the construction and engineering group in Masons' Manchester office from Hill Dickinson's Liverpool office.Commercial expert Gillian Huthart has joined north-east firm Crutes from the Mari Group, where she was company solicitor.

Also leaving in-house is Helen Alcorn, who has joined Cambridge-based Taylor Vinters' employment team from insurer AMP.Rothera Dowson in Nottingham has recruited property lawyer Nicholas James from Rutherfords in Tamworth and residential conveyancer Carole Fox from Lawrences in Wellingborough.

Rachel Hatton has joined Rothera's employment department after completing her training contract with the firm.IP specialist Lisa Boyd has joined Surrey-based IP and IT specialist firm Lochners from Finers Stephens Innocent.

Gareth Jenkins has joined the commercial litigation team at Milton-Keynes firm Warren Thomas from Shoosmiths in Reading.Morgan Cole has recruited two construction lawyers: Joanna Rees to its Cardiff office from Berwin Leighton and Carys Evans to its Swansea office from Leo Abse & Cohen.

IP lawyer Lyn Barkow has joined the London office of US firm Brobeck Hale & Dorr from Withers.Former barrister Clare Davis has requalified as a solicitor and joined London firm Rooks Rider, specialising in family law.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' associated law firm, Landwell, has taken on four associates: l Corporate lawyers Sharon Fryer and Mihir Munshir join from Linklaters and US firm Buchanan Ingersoll respectively; l Waseem Khokhar and Sylvain Magdinier join the IP, IT and digital business group from Denton Wilde Sapte and Clifford Chance respectively.

Media expert Duncan Lamont has joined Charles Russell as a senior assistant from Pinsent Curtis Biddle.

JUDICIARY Lord Justice Simon Brown has been appointed vice-president of the Court of Appeal (civil division) on the retirement of Sir Martin Nourse.David Kirkham of Rotheram firm Oxley & Coward has been appointed as a district judge on the North-Eastern Circuit.

Four new solicitor district judge (magistrates court) appointments: in Wolverhampton, Jonathan Charles of Keith Evans & Co in Cumbria; in Kingston upon Hull, Frederick Rutherford of Jordans in Dewsbury; in Tower Hill, John Zani of Whitelock & Storr in London; and, in Leeds, Tony Broadley of Manchester firm Rowlands.Judge Michael Cripps, a circuit judge on the south-eastern circuit, has been appointed president of the Immigration Services Tribunal.Solicitors Caroline Pugh and Julian Hallam have been appointed to befull-time immigration adjudicators in the Leeds region.

Stephen Pedro has been similarly appointed in the London region.