MOVING ON

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Partners - Hires

The promotion season may be well under way, but that has not stopped the lateral action, with US firms in London the big losers of the week.

Niche central London commercial firm Wallace & Partners has taken on two former Steptoe & Johnson lawyers: David Judah, who was head of the business solutions department in London, and Rex Nwakodo, who was a partner in the same team.

Mr Judah is joining as head of corporate, while Mr Nwakodo becomes head of the technology practice.

Rafi Azim-Khan, head of US firm McDermott Will & Emery's European

e-business and marketing group, has moved to the London office of Birmingham-based Wragge & Co, where he will be a partner and head of the

e-business and marketing teams.

Penningtons' City office has been boosted by corporate/commercial partner Jonathan Griffiths from the London office of US firm Buchanan Ingersoll.

Also in the City, Eversheds has hired private equity partner Richard Moulton from Ashurst Morris Crisp.

The fall-out from the DJ Freeman break-up continues, with Paul Clark, formerly its senior property partner, choosing to join Kent firm Cripps Harries Hall instead of the rest of his colleagues in their move to Olswang.

Malcom Bates, formerly vice-president and general counsel at Genset, France's largest independent biotechnology company, has rejoined Taylor Wessing after two years in-house.

He will be a biotech and life sciences partner in the firm's Cambridge office.

Nottingham firm Freethcartwright has brought in clinical negligence specialist Louise Hunt as a partner from the Birmingham office of Russell Jones & Walker.

Mason & Co, a niche employment firm in Bakewell, Derbyshire, has a new partner in the shape of Helen Taylor, formerly an assistant at Milton Keynes firm Kimbells.

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Partners - Promotions

With the traditional 1 May promotion day fast approaching, two magic circle firms have named their new partners.

Linklaters is hitting the 500-partner mark with 19 promotions, of which six are in London: James Inglis (corporate), Catrina Smith (employment), Paula Riedel (EU competition), Peter Bevan (financial markets), Simon Gwynne (asset finance) and Andrew Jones (projects).

Slaughter and May will have 127 partners after making up Hywel Davies and Jan Putnis (both corporate, and mergers and acquisitions), and Robert Sumroy (IP and IT).

Elsewhere in the City, niche pensions firm Sacker & Partners has made up Faith Dickson and now has 20 partners.

Litigator Nicholas Hanna has taken the step up at Pritchard Englefield, which now has 24 partners.

At Kemp Little, Sarah Porter and Lucy Vernall, heads of employment and corporate respectively, have joined the equity, while commercial solicitors David Meredith and Paul O'Hare have become salaried partners.

London and Manchester firm Leigh Day & Co has 22 partners after promoting five: Sue Bence, Dominic Hemsi and Bill Mayne are in the accident and disease team, while Jock Mackenzie is a clinical negligence specialist as well as still a practising medical doctor.

Bozena Michalowska-Howells is in the international claims department.

Newbury-based Horsey Lightly Flynn has reached 25 partners now that family associates Catherine France and Rachel Whitehead, along with property associate Sarah Wray have been made up.

In Reading, Boyes Turner has promoted David Blomfield (employment) and Kathy Minter (technology and commerce) to reach 22 partners, while Field Seymour Parkes has 11 partners after Bridget Crossley (commercial property) and Michelle Rees (family) were elevated.

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Associates/

assistants

In London, US insurance and litigation firm Clausen Miller has recruited two assistants: Jill Heaton, formerly a partner at Hextalls who specialises in construction, engineering and professional indemnity claims, and newly qualified Darren Thompson from CMS Cameron McKenna.

Probate associate Charlotte Sumption

has joined Bircham Dyson Bell from RadcliffesLeBrasseur.

Colchester firm Gaston Whybrew has brought in insurance litigation assistant Simon Tilling from Merricks.

Karen Warner, formerly of Solicitors Title in Exeter, has joined Exeter-based Stones to head the new property team in its Tiverton office.

North-east firm Blackett Hart & Pratt has added employment solicitor Jane Jelly to its Newcastle office from McKeags.

IN-HOUSE

Simon Johnson is joining the FA Premier League as director of legal and business affairs.

He joins from ITV Network, where he was director of rights and business affairs.

Patrick Jaggard, a social housing partner at Stratford upon Avon firm Needham & James, is joining Sanctuary Housing Group as head of legal services and company secretary.

CORRECTIONS

Samantha Geldard has not joined Exeter firm Michelmores direct from Mundays (see Archive 21/3/2003 http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/archivearticle.asp.

She spent 18 months travelling in between.

Madeleine Abas, a

new partner at Cooper Kenyon Burrows, was an associate at DLA beforehand, not an assistant (see Archive 28/3/2003 http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/archivearticleframe.asp?ArticleName=/gazettearchive/2003-03-28/19arch.txt).