PRIVATE PRACTICE

Partners

Lots of activity in the midlands this week.

In Nottingham, Nelsons has formed a link with niche licensing firm Poppleston Allen and transferred over its licensing team, which is headed by partner David Lucas.

He is joined by solicitor James Anderson, a paralegal and secretary.

Nelsons' chief executive Tim Hastings said: 'Licensing accounts for a very small part of our turnover, and we feel our clients' interests are best served if we concentrate on other strengths, while building a link with a specialist licensing firm to assist when needed.'

Also leaving Nelsons is clinical negligence partner Karen Reynolds, who has moved to head the team at Freethcartwright's Derby office.

Black country firm Higgs & Sons will have a new senior partner next month, when Ian Shovlin, head of the firm's personal injury department and chairman of the Motor Accident Solicitors Society, replaces David Higgs after 16 years in the role.

He will remain as a consultant.

Moving south, Bristol firm Burroughs Day has promoted three partners: Stephanie Cope (head of the public liability team), Helena Craig (head of the technical claims team), and Martin Crighton (head of the home-moving team in the Portishead office).

In Newbury, family partner Claire Hamilton-Russell joins Penningtons from London's Farrer & Co.

South London firm Russell-Cooke has made up the head of its criminal department, Jae Carwardine.

Tunbridge Wells firm Thomson Snell & Passmore has brought in construction partner Chris Whittington from City firm Fenwick Elliott to head its non-contentious practice.

Family partner Andrew Delo joins Brighton firm Healys from Allen & Glaysher.

Private client specialist Valerie Scott has joined Dover-based Mowll & Mowll from Canterbury firm Furley Page.

She joins as partner-designate and will head the firm's private client department.

Leaving England is former Linklaters capital markets partner Alan Stevens, who becomes a partner in the Jersey office of Carey Olsen.

Further afield in Hong Kong, IT and e-commerce partner Nigel Stamp has swapped Clifford Chance for Bird & Bird.

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Associates/assistants

Peterborough firm Greenwoods has hired two former partners to head departments as associates.

Darren Morgan arrives from Birmingham's Wragge & Co to manage commercial dispute resolution, and Rebecca Owen has left Abbot Stanwick in Huntingdon to head the residential property unit.

Metcalfe Copeman & Pettefar in King's Lynn has hired criminal assistant Charlotte Winchester from Ward Gethin.

Birmingham's Anthony Collins has a new commercial dispute resolution associate in Hilary Harrison, formerly head of property asset management at Eversheds in the city.

On the other side of the midlands, Roythorne & Co in Spalding has two new solicitors following the qualification of Stefan Mars (employment) and Rachel Bourne (commercial property).

Newly qualified family lawyer Daisy Hutchinson has left City firm Charles Russell for the Newbury office of Penningtons.

Similarly, newly qualified private client solicitor Caroline Malone has joined Reading firm Blandy & Blandy from Kidd Rapinet.

Portsmouth firm Coffin Mew & Clover has recruited a commercial litigator, Christian Smith, from niche City litigation firm Nicholas Drukker & Co.

Paul Davidson Taylor in Horsham has a new company and commercial associate, Simon Warburton, who joins from Leeds firm Lupton Fawcett.

Richard Featherstone joins the City office of Davies Lavery as an assistant.

A specialist in property work in the leisure sector, he was previously in-house at London & Edinburgh Inns.

CORRECTIONS

In [2003] Gazette, 25 September, 12, the new personal injury firm in Chester should have been called BGR Bloomer, while Joanne King, a new solicitor at Howells in Sheffield, specialises in clinical negligence, not as stated.