Moving on

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Partners

The season for partnership elections is upon us.

Leading the way is City firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which will have 506 partners worldwide after making up 29 partners next month, including nine in London: Stephen Hewes, Julian Makin, Julian Pritchard and David Sonter (corporate), John Bowman and William Robinson (dispute resolution), Brian Gray (finance), Natasha Good (intellectual property) and Robert Kent (tax).

Herbert Smith is next with 11 promotions, seven of which are in London: Laurence Elliott (corporate recovery), Louise Freestone, Scott Cochrane and Chris Haynes (corporate), Julia Pyke (corporate/projects), Anna Howell (energy/projects) and Donald Rowlands (real estate).

It will have 194 partners, a 30% increase on two years ago.

Six promotions at Field Fisher Waterhouse, taking its partnership to 77: Dominic Gurney-Champion and Neil Palmer (corporate finance), Andrew Pena (IP/IT litigation), Ramatu Banga (hotel and leisure property), Mary Timms (professional regulatory) and Toby Redgrave (commercial litigation).

Nicholson Graham & Jones's four promotions and one recruit take it to 52 partners: Rachel Boothroyd and Dominic Bray (intellectual property, technology and sport), Richard Hardwick (commercial banking), Philip Morgan (financial services) are all promoted, while Neil Baylis joins as head of competition from Osborne Clarke.

City firm Sprecher Grier Halberstam has brought in former Masons partner Frances Alderson to head its construction and energy department.

It is also a time for new senior and managing partners.

Corporate partner Richard Price will next month become CMS Cameron McKenna's senior partner, taking over from the retiring Bill Shelford.

US firm Morgan Lewis has elected Peter Wallace as managing partner of its London office.

A corporate partner, he succeeds Thomas Benz, who will now be responsible for the firm's European corporate finance practice.

A new managing partner for Herbert Smith in Paris: Georges Dirani, currently head of banking, has replaced Neil Brimson, who has led the office since the late 1980s and is continuing with his project finance practice.

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Associates/assistants

Six new partners but one less associate for Field Fisher Waterhouse, with company/commercial associate James Clarke moving to City firm Sprecher Grier Halberstam.

Seven-partner London insurance firm Greenwoods - which aims to grow by 50% over the next four years - has expanded its personal injury practice with assistants Malcolm Henke and Stephen Howcroft from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, and Graham Briggs and Tim Wain from Taylor Joynson Garrett.

Chelmsford-based Wollastons has appointed Louise Long, previously at London firm Hempsons, as a senior tax and trusts associate.

Property assistant Radu Herklots has left Mackarness & Lunt for fellow Winchester firm White & Bowker.

Plymouth firm Gill Akaster has brought in wills and trusts assistant Isobel Yandle from Exeter firm Dunn & Baker.

Three assistants have been promoted to associates at Bristol firm Barcan Woodward: family lawyers Kim Joseph and Chris Miller, and Lucinda Rowe (personal and medical injuries).

Newly qualified litigator James Gabb - already known as a world kick-boxing silver medallist (see [2000] Gazette, 23 November, 14) - has been taken on as an assistant at Cheltenham firm Rickerby Watterson.

Three solicitors join Leeds and Sheffield firm Wrigleys.

Newly qualified Alayne Addy strengthens the agricultural department, Christopher Billington - formerly at London firm Streeter Marshall - joins the employment and charities team, and private client lawyer Edward Bromet arrives from Bromet & Sons in Tadcaster.

OTHERS

Solicitor Jonathan Lamb becomes general counsel and company secretary in the London office of US pharmaceutical company Amarin Corporation.

He was in-house at Shire Pharmaceuticals Group.

West midlands firm Challinors Lyon Clark has appointed its first chief executive in the form of David Higson, the current partnership secretary.

He will have responsibility for planning and developing objectives set by the firm's management board, headed by senior partner Trevor Lee.

Andrew Manning-Cox, a litigation partner at Birmingham firm Wragge & Co, has been appointed a non-executive director of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution.