Moving on

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Partners - hires

Bath-based Mowbray Woodwards starts this week's round-up with two new partners.

Edward Cooke has moved from TLT in Bristol to head the commercial property team, and he will be joined by property partner Catherine Sanderson, previously in-house solicitor at card maker Andrew Brownsword.

Midlands firm Howes Percival also has double good news.

Corporate partner Graham Middlemiss joins the Leicester team from Pinsents in Birmingham, and commercial property partner Nicky Armstrong moves to the Milton Keynes office from Halliwell Landau in London.

In Manchester, construction partner Chris Wilcock has left Hammonds to join Hill Dickinson.

Clifford Chance has strengthened its New York office with the recruitment of Madlyn Gleich Primoff, an insolvency and debt restructuring partner from Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker.

Partners - promotions

City-based Masons has hit 102 partners after promoting nine: in London, Myles Blewett (IT), Andrew Dewsnap, Christopher Kelly, Nicholas Tidnam (all capital projects), Jason Hambury (energy); in Manchester, Rosemary Jay (IT); in Glasgow, Ian Laing (capital projects); in Edinburgh, Kenny Valentine (UK construction and engineering); and in Hong Kong, Jon Howes (international construction and engineering).

The London office of US firm Weil Gotshal & Manges has promoted securitisation specialist Steven Ong to the partnership.

Exeter-based Stones has elevated criminal and child law specialist Nick Emson to partner.

Mills & Reeve has made up three associates in Cambridge - Bridget Archibald (PFI and projects), Nick Finlayson-Brown (property) and Sarah Seed (business and finance).

Commercial property lawyer Jeremy Briars has been named a partner and head of commercial property at Solihull-based Williamson & Soden, which now has ten partners.

Three new partners takes the total to 23 for north-west firm Stephensons: Jonathan Chadwick (commercial litigation), Kay Waddington (corporate) and Sean Joyce (special advocacy).

Commercial property lawyer Nicola Phelps has been elected to the partnership at east Lancashire firm Haworth & Nuttall.

Commercial property lawyer Norman Cohen and employment specialist David Fagan have been made up in the Liverpool office of Mace & Jones, now a 35-partner firm.

Liverpool-based Keith Levin & Co has a new senior partner: criminal lawyer Robin Flett takes over from Keith Levin, who has retired from the firm following his appointment as an immigration adjudicator.

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Associates/assistants

Gerard O'Toole, formerly a salaried partner and head of housing at Marsons in Kent, has joined south London firm Glazer Delmar as an associate with a brief to build up its housing department.

The London office of US firm Altheimer & Gray has recruited senior IP associate Chris Gelber from fellow US firm McDermott Will & Emery.

He will head the London IP team.

Construction assistant Mark Perry joins City firm Howard Kennedy from Westminster-based Campbell Hooper.

Maidstone-based Brachers has promoted six assistants to associates: Alison Harden, Hillary Holland, Nicola Pettigrew (all healthcare), Jeremy Horton (personal injury), Michael Oatham (commercial litigation) and Sarah Gaines (property).

As well as new partners, Howes Percival has been busy at the lower levels.

Employment lawyer Paula Bailey and corporate specialist Francesca Bettermann have both been promoted to associates.

Joining the firm as assistants are commercial property lawyers Papia Rowe (Milton Keynes office, from CMS Cameron McKenna), Helen Waters (Leicester office, from Atanaskovic Hartnell in Sydney) and Sebastian Crocker (Northampton office, from Forsters), private client solicitor Michael Osborne (Northampton office, from Tollers) and residential property expert Kelly Roberts (Northampton office, from Barnes & Campling).

Reading firm Clarks has two new lawyers from City firm CMS Cameron McKenna: corporate and technology associate Kate Norgett and construction assistant Martin Salt.

Four solicitors are promoted to associates at Foot Anstey Sargent's Plymouth office: Richard Bagwell, Mark Grassam (private client), Michael Bonning (commercial disputes) and Patrick Howarth (employment).

In the Exeter office, James Evans (corporate) and Jonathan Hall (private client) step up.

Also in Exeter, Samantha Pucci is promoted to associate in Stones' travel and tourism team.

Mills & Reeve has recruited assistants Greg Gibson (commercial) from in-house at Warner Bros for the Norwich office and Gary Smith (corporate finance) from Wragge & Co for its Birmingham office.

Also leaving Wragge & Co is construction assistant Warren Berwick, who joins Shoosmiths' office in the city.

However, Wragge & Co has strengthened its IP team with senior associate Sarah Webb and assistant Adam McArthur, both from Eversheds.

Lee Crowder has promoted four assistants to associate: Andy Leach (litigation), Sarah Pilkington (property), Yetunde Dania and Lis Bradshaw (social housing).