Moving On

PRIVATE PRACTICEPartnersIt is all happening in the midlands this week, with leading Birmingham firm Martineau Johnson promoting five associates to its partnership: Gary Davie (corporate), Jane Byford (employment), Michael Craik (construction), Ian Flavell (private client) and Clive Read (commercial property).

The firm now has 46 partners.Construction law specialist Tim Willis, previously a partner at Merricks, joins another Birmingham firm, The Wilkes Partnership.Leicester-based Lawson West has six partners after the bulk promotion of four associates: Ashley Hunt and Victoria Jones (both personal injury), James Haworth (family) and Diana Carmichael (elderly law).US/UK firm Reed Smith Warner Cranston has promoted Coventry-based employment associate Jane Hobson to partner, along with London-based litigator Fiona Stewart.Heatons has gained Rob Bailey as a partner to head up its corporate finance team in Stoke.

He joins from Irwin Mitchell in Birmingham, and brings the partnership up to 11.Moving to the north-west, Paul McCarthy - who is chief assessor of the Law Society's clinical negligence panel - has left Maxwell Entwhistle & Byrne to take up partnership at Liverpool-based Edwards Abrams Doherty.In Manchester, personal injury firm Branton Edwards has promoted Christine Kett as its fourth partner.There has been plenty of activity in London as well.

The London office of south-east firm Thomas Eggar Church Adams has expanded its intellectual property (IP) practice by bringing in Tracey Rose from Pentland Group, with Sara Ludlam following as a solicitor.Two new partners for City-based Rosenblatt - media expert Oliver Smith joins from Davenport Lyons while corporate specialist Tessa Laws is promoted from associate.Helen Dyer has been promoted by City firm DJ Freeman to partner in the property finance team.Landwell, the associated law firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, has secured the services of Goodman Derrick employment partner Noel Deans.City firm Simmons & Simmons has its first US-qualified structured securities partner after recruiting Christopher Lewis from New York firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.There has been action on the domestic and international fronts for Lovells.

Projects dispute resolution specialist Melanie Willems has joined in London from Ashurst Morris Crisp, while the Milan office has a new head of IP in the shape of Luigi Mansani, who joins from Italian IP firm Studio Vanzetti.Also abroad, Withers has recruited Edmund Granski from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft to head its post-merger New York office, where he will focus on tax and wealth management legal issues.Back at home, family expert Penny Rogers has been made up to partner in the Newton Abbot office of Devon firm Kitson Hutchings.

PRIVATE PRACTICEAssociates/assistantsCity firm Norton Rose has strengthened its international securities team with the appointment of two senior assistants.

Simon Porter joins from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Jacqueline Cheng from US firm Debevoise & Plimpton's Hong Kong office.Mark Spiro, previously director of international business affairs at Granada Media, has joined Denton Wilde Sapte to specialise in sport and television issues.Along with its new partner (see above), Withers has recruited Astrid Owen as an assistant in its private client team in London.Westminster firm RadcliffesLeBrasseur has brought in tax and charity law specialist Laura Hessey from Allen & Overy as an assistant.

However, RadcliffesLeBrasseur has lost family law expert Richard Dyke, who joins Reading-based firm Blandy & Blandy as an assistant.Fellow Westminster firm Bircham Dyson Bell has promoted property specialist Huw Thomas to associate.Two assistants have joined shipping and offshore construction specialist firm Curtis Davis Garrard, based at Heathrow.

Moira Maresky joins from A Bilbrough & Co and Imran Mufti from Clifford Chance.Another firm with multiple appointments is Manchester-based Branton Edwards, which, along with its new partner, has recruited personal injury specialist Kay Boggs from City-based Davies Arnold Cooper to become an associate heading the road traffic claims department.

She is joined by the new head of the public liability claims department Fiona Connolly, who is promoted to associate.Remaining in Manchester, two assistants have joined James Chapman & Co.

Personal injury expert Martin McAleer has joined from Keoghs in Bolton, and David Johnson has recently qualified with the firm and will be working on cases resulting from industrial diseases.Finally, commercial property lawyer Rachel Dunlop has moved from Raworths to join Harrogate practice Berwins as an associate and head of commercial property.