MOVING ON

PRIVATE PRACTICEPartnershipsClifford Chance managed to eclipse the growing frenzy of the partnership round with two major pieces of personnel news.Chris Bright has left his role as the head of the firms European competition practice to join US firm Shearman & Stirling; he has been replaced by Simon Baxter.And Peter Cornell, joint managing partner of Clifford Chances European operations, was elected deputy chief executive officer.

He will take over as chief operating officer on 1 August following the retirement of Garth Pollard, and succeed Michael Bray as chief executive from 1 January 2003.The firms New York office has also recruited financial restructuring and insolvency partner Scott Talmadge from US firm Morgan Lewis.Fellow magic circle firm Slaughter and May has appointed David Frank to the new role of practice partner, responsible for practice development within the firm, in particular the allocation of resources and identification of business opportunities.

Melvyn Hughes has been appointed executive partner, responsible for the firms overall management strategy, including the finance area.Back at the partnership round, Allen & Overy has 37 new partners, taking the global tally to 391.

Fifteen are in London:Corporate Michael McDonald, Ross Fairley, Eileen Kelliher and Alistair Lindsay;Global banking Chris Andrew, Simon Gleeson, Jonathan Brownson, Charles Lindsay;Global international capital markets Matthew Hartley, Christian Lambie, Anne-Claude Lutz;Employment, pensions and incentives Julie Quinn;Litigation Richard Smith and Mona Vaswani; Tax David Hughes.Lovells has 24 new partners worldwide, bringing its total to 289.

Nine of them are in London: Katie Banks (pensions), Ailbhe Edgar (City litigation), Marjena Fidalgo-Sokalski (international banking), Matthew French (business restructuring and insolvency), Nigel Goldsworthy (asset finance), Charles Rix (corporate finance), Brett Rowland (intellectual property and IT), Richard Tyler (energy), and Katherine Watts (property).Simmons & Simmons has 154 partners after 11 were appointed, including eight in London:Corporate Tim Field and Ed Lukins;Financial markets Jonathan Hammond, Robert Turner and Steven Whittaker;Litigation Jane Howard;Competition Jenny Block;Employment Philip Bartlett.Taylor Joynson Garrett has promoted Paul Lawrence (commercial property), Paul Burke and Peter Willis (corporate), and Bibi Fortin Lees (private client) to partner, taking the total to 91.Gouldens also has four new partners: Blaise Marin-Curtoud (tax), Michael Nouril (corporate), Liz Saxton (banking) and David Smith (property).

It now has 37 partners.Elsewhere, Michael Cunliffe has left his role as head of the planning group at Ashurst Morris Crisp for Mayfair-based property specialist firm Forsters.Norton Rose has made up projects lawyer Andrew Newbery to partner.Nick Allen, currently Hammond Suddards Edges London corporate head, has become the national head of corporate finance following the appointment of Richard Burns last year as head of the London office.Nottingham firm Warren & Allen has promoted Clare Brady to head of litigation.

She takes over from Heather Stanford, who will focus on her role as managing partner.

In Leeds, Walker Morris has a new leadership.

Michael Taylor is taking over as managing partner from Philip Mudd, who is returning to full-time fee-earning as the head of insolvency, while Peter Smart, a former managing partner, has stepped up to be chairman.

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

Marine specialist Nicola Ellis has joined Stones Exeter office after taking a break from the profession.Property and agricultural lawyer Kate Theophilus has left Bond Pearce to join Cornwall-based Coodes.Bristol firm TLT has recruited financial services lawyer Philip Ryley as an associate from Eversheds.On the south coast, Bournemouth-based Lester Aldridge has added employment associate Simon Rhodes to its Southampton office from Beachcroft Wansbroughs.

The Derby office of Edwards Geldard has taken on construction solicitor Richard Brookes from Actons.Leeds-based Lupton Fawcett has promoted property litigation specialist Robert Hastie and employment lawyer Ben Wood to associate level.Also in Leeds, housing specialist Stephen Neale joins Emsleys, moving from Walker Charlesworth & Foster.Housing association specialists Howarth Goodman has recruited Suzanne Gregson, formally of Napthen Houghton Craven, to head the litigation department at its Preston office.The London office of Thomas Cooper & Stibbard has expanded its banking team with US-qualified Stavros Topoulos, who joins from the Washington DC office of Mayer Brown & Platt.

OTHERLondon Universitys Dr Ian Walden head of the IT law unit at Queen Mary and Westfield College has joined US firm Baker & McKenzie as a consultant.Hammond Suddards Edge has appointed high-profile construction professional Alan Crane as an industry special adviser.