Moving On

PRIVATE PRACTICEPartnersNational firm Pinsent Curtis Biddle has scored a major recruitment this week by bringing in Tim Burton, previously head of legal at leading reinsurance intermediary Benfield Group, to head its national insurance and reinsurance practice.

At the same time, leading insurance insolvency lawyer Peter Fidler - formerly a partner at City firm Stephenson Harwood - has joined as a consultant.Robert Rakison, joint founding partner of Rakisons - now the London office of US firm Steptoe & Johnson - has joined international firm Grundberg Mocatta to form Grundberg Mocatta Rakison.

He will build up the firm's company, commercial, technology and intellectual property practices.Outside London, Reading firm Dexter Montague & Partners now has six partners, including three in the family law department, with the appointment of family specialist Martin Kelly from Blandy & Blandy.Company/commercial lawyer Stephen Dewar and insurance specialist John Cousins have both been made up to partner in, respectively, the Maidstone and London offices of Davies Lavery.Richard Whybrew and Keith Gaston have set up their own firm in Colchester; Gaston Whybrew specialises in property and subsidence law.

Both men were formerly partners in the Chelmsford office of Merricks.Across to the other side of the country, leading Bristol commercial firm Burges Salmon has promoted five of its associates to the partnership: Collette Bewley (pensions), Jane Bridgwater (employment), David Hall (litigation), Richard Owen (property), and John Smith (project finance).

The firm now has 53 partners.Residential conveyancing and wills lawyer John Escott has been made up to partner at Wiltshire firm Goughs.One of Torbay's largest practices, Hooper & Wollen, now has 12 partners following the promotion of Janet Rallison (property) and Rebecca Procter (family).Four new partners at Bolton-based Keoghs: Jon Batchelor (personal injury), David Wynn (employers' public liability and disease cases), and Tracey Hardman and Matthew Rogers (both commercial litigation).Personal injury specialist John McGettigan and matrimonial lawyer Dan Rushton have both been promoted to partner in north Staffordshire firm Grindeys.Martin Rogers has arrived as a litigation and dispute resolution partner in the Hong Kong office of Clifford Chance from Herbert Smith.

Another Clifford Chance partner, Russell Wells, has relocated from London to build the Asian projects practice in the Singapore office.Isle of Man firm Dickinson Cruickshank & Co has a new English-qualified partner in the shape of trusts lawyer John Rimmer, formerly of Charles Russell.

PRIVATE PRACTICEAssociates/assistantsAs well as its four new partners, Keoghs has promoted six assistants to associates: Jo Hewitt (commercial litigation), Amanda Nuttall (employer's/public liability), Andrew Peters (insurance litigation) and Chris Booth, Gary Fitzpatrick and Paul Hassan (all personal injury).Private client specialist Robert Brindley, previously at Nantwich-based Bowcock Cuerden, has joined the Manchester office of Russell Jones & Walker as an assistant.Mace & Jones has boosted its Liverpool office with employment associate David Fagan, who leaves the partnership of St Albans firm Pictons.Leaving the north-west is employment lawyer Emma Patchett, who has swapped the Manchester office of Hammond Suddards Edge for Canterbury-based Furley Page.

Newly qualified Colin Smith joins her as an employment assistant.Newcastle-under-Lyme solicitors Knight & Sons has promoted private client specialist Gail Frankland to associate.Two assistants have joined Staffordshire firm Hand Morgan & Owen - Fred Parkinson joins the company commercial department from Clarkes in Telford and conveyancer Anita Patel joins from Essex firm Cunningtons.Lucinda Hudson has returned to the UK to join the Newcastle office of north-east firm Crutes as a senior associate specialising in employment law and civil litigation.

During a varied seven-year stint in Hong Kong, she was most recently legal adviser to the island's equal opportunities commission.In the west country, Bristol firm TLT has recruited tax assistant Olivia Kendall from local rivals Osborne Clarke.Two new assistants for the Exeter office of Foot Anstey Sargent: Simon Harding (commercial property) from Bristol-based Burges Salmon, and Tracy Parker (property litigation) from London firm Russell-Cooke.Back in London, dry shipping litigation specialist Simon Moss has joined Waterson Hicks from Penningtons.Ross & Craig has expanded its company commercial department with senior associate Christopher Miles, formerly deputy head of group legal services at Associated British Foods, and Niamh Coyne - from Irish firm A&L Goodbody - as an assistant.Also leaving Clifford Chance in Hong Kong (see above) is corporate associate Mark Sutherland, who has joined US firm Sidley Austin Brown & Wood as a consultant.