PRIVATE PRACTICE

Partners

Three new law firms catch the eye this week.

Robert Postlethwaite has left Pinsents to set up Consortes in Hertfordshire, which is dedicated to advising on employee share plans.

In north London, residential and commercial property specialists Joyce Agim and Efuru Obua have set up JE Solicitors, moving from the London Borough of Brent and Harlesden firm Lawson Adefope respectively.

Tim Crook, formerly of Richard Body & Co, has set up specialist firm Housing Law Services, representing registered social landlords across the south-east, based in St Leonards-on-Sea in East Sussex.

Further along the coast, leisure and retail specialist Joanne McGuinness, formerly head of the retail sector group at Denton Wilde Sapte, has left the City to work in the Southampton office of south-coast firm Lester Aldridge.

Mental health and family law partner Geraldine Johns has left Coffin Mew & Clover to join fellow Portsmouth firm Bolitho Way.

Back in the City, two new partners for Manchester-based Halliwell Landau's office in the capital: insurance partner Peter Unsworth from Davies Arnold Cooper, and corporate recovery partner Carolyn Swain from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert.

Niche commercial central London firm Wallace & Partners has promoted mergers and acquisitions specialist John Woodhouse to partner.

Across to the capital of Wales, where Edwards Geldard has promoted Sandra Davies (insolvency), Kempton Rees (commercial dispute resolution) and Liz Ganderton (commercial property) to partner.

Ben Hendry (corporate) has been promoted to partner at its Derby office.

It now has 48 partners.

Cardiff-based MLM Solicitors is now a five-partner firm after making up personal injury, medical negligence and healthcare specialist Andrea Thomas.

Mental health lawyer Lisa Williams has become the second partner at Chester's Owain Rhys Williams.

In Manchester, Turner Parkinson has promoted insolvency specialist Joey Byrne as its seventh partner and Alison Hart has left Hill Dickinson to join James Chapman & Co as an insurance fraud partner.

City firm SJ Berwin has appointed Marc Lvy as a partner to spearhead its EU and competition practice in Paris.

He joins from Archibald, where he was head of antitrust and distribution law.

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Associates/assistants

The London office of US firm Shearman & Sterling is to set up a compensation and employee benefits practice after recruiting senior associate Paula Holland from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

She will be joined by relocating New York partner Doreen Lilienfeld later in the year.

Shearmans has also recruited mergers and acquisitions senior associate Angus Rollo from Linklaters.

Elsewhere in the City, catastrophic injury solicitor Megan Galliet has moved from Surrey-based Rymills to its sister firm Plexus Law and construction solicitor Anna Rabin has moved from Lovells to Maples Teesdale.

In Kent, Karen Giles (matrimonial and family) has left ASB Law and Paul Smith (civil litigation) has left Bolden & Youatt to join the Tonbridge and Sevenoaks offices of Warners respectively.

Portsmouth firm Bolitho Way has a new private client solicitor following the qualification of Christina Grinham.

East Anglian firm Mills & Reeve has promoted five solicitors to associates: in Cambridge, Stuart Pemble (construction and engineering), Kimbra Weston (commercial property) and Richard Noble (commercial property); in Norwich, Julian Steed (property litigation); and in Birmingham, Wesley Hall (public law).

Elswhere in the midlands, financial and insolvency litigation associate Kamal Majevadia has left Wragge & Co in Birmingham for the Walsall office of Hadens.

Lucy Freestone (clinical negligence) and Rajinderpaul Singh (civil litigation) have qualified into the Birmingham and West Bromwich offices of Challinors Lyon Clark respectively.

East midlands-based Roythorne & Co has hired solicitor Adrian Lazell from Kent firm Buss Murton as a residential property manager.

Theresa Carling has left Manchester's Employment Law Advisory Services for Taylors in Blackburn.

Manchester-based Nexus has brought in commercial property solicitor Louise Jones from City firm Maples Teesdale.

CORRECTIONS

Richard O'Hagan became an equity partner at Reading firm Rowberry Morris, having become a salaried partner in 2001, not as indicated in [2003] Gazette, 29 August, 9.

Tracey Rowley was not promoted to partner at Southend firm TMK (see [2003] Gazette, 4 September, 9).

She is a legal executive who has been promoted to associate.