PRIVATE PRACTICE

Partners

A double partner hire for central London commercial firm Wallace & Partners starts this week off.

Property specialists Simon Edwards and Jackie Boot join from Gordon Dadds.

Simon Barker has been made up in the white-collar crime department of central London firm Janes.

City firm Thomas Cooper & Stibbard has promoted commercial litigator Hal Branch to partner.

The Dartford office of Vizards Wyeth has recruited employment partner John Pritchard from asb law in Maidstone.

Commercial lawyer Peter Goodman has joined Pictons' St Albans office as a salaried partner.

Well known for advising many Formula 1 teams, he leaves London media firm Schillings.

Oxford-based Henmans has promoted two new partners: Joanna Atkinson (employment) and Sarah Foster (professional negligence).

Andrew Kearney has joined the Bath office of Withy King as a construction partner, leaving City firm Masons.

In Devon, David Harvey has been promoted to partner at Ford Simey.

He will head the criminal law practice.

Birmingham firm Wragge & Co has promoted barrister-turned-solicitor John Cooper to partner in its competition, public law and regulation team (see [2003] Gazette, 6 November, page 8).

Manchester firm George Davies has made corporate lawyer Paul Tyrer a partner, taking the partnership to 18.

In Sheffield, Terry Regan has joined Wake Smith as a salaried partner and head of a new medical negligence unit at its Campo Lane office.

He moves from Russell Jones & Walker.

Litigator Adrian Green has joined Bradford firm Stachiw Bashir Green from Eatons to set up an office in Saltaire.

In Brussels, EU and competition partner Simon Topping has joined SJ Berwin from Bird & Bird.

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Associates/assistants

Family lawyer and mediator Ann Owens has given up solo practice to join the Newcastle office of Blackett Hart & Pratt as a senior solicitor.

Suzanne Baxter has qualified into the defendant litigation practice of Leeds firm Nelson & Co.

Across the Pennines in Manchester, Joanne Sanders has joined Glaisyers as a commercial solicitor.

She leaves an in-house role at multi-media company ITM Commercial.

Richard Sheldon has qualified into the employment team of Mace & Jones.

Moving to the East Midlands, Edwards Geldard has appointed two newly qualified solicitors to its corporate practice.

Janet Davey is based in Nottingham and Gareth Saynor is in the Derby office.

Gateley Wareing's Nottingham office has recruited commercial assistant Anna Thurston from Eversheds in Birmingham.

Oxford firm Henmans has promoted three new associates: Penny Heighway (personal injury), Alison Talbot (private client) and Katherine Gregory (professional negligence).

Meanwhile, Alexia Baston and Jane Lightfoot have both qualified into the firm's personal injury department, and Charlotte Da Silveira has qualified into the professional negligence team.

In Newbury, industrial disease specialist Brigitte Chandler has moved to Charles Lucas & Marshall as an associate from Thring Townsend in Swindon, where she was a partner.

Commercial litigator Sarah Colbran joins Guildford's Stevens & Bolton as an assistant from City firm Herbert Smith.

OTHER

North of England P&I Club has hired three shipping lawyers from private practice.

Former Richards Butler partner Frank Sanford becomes a senior claims executive focusing on cargo claims.

Charles Baker, formerly a partner City firm Lawrence Graham, joins the freight, demurrage and defence department.

Antigone Yanniotis joins the same department from New York law firm Lyons Skoufalos.

She will transfer to the club's Piraeus office in Greece next year.

Mace & Jones' Liverpool office has hired experienced human resources consultant Vince Housecroft.

He was formerly director of human resources at Dalkia plc.

BAR AND BENCH

Commercial fraud specialist Kuldip Singh QC has joined Serle Court from 5 Paper Buildings.

Barrister John Snell has left 2 Temple Gardens in London and moved to Guildhall Chambers in Bristol.

He specialises in equine law, personal injury, clinical and veterinary negligence.

Suzan Matthews QC has been appointed a circuit judge on the south-eastern circuit.

She became a recorder in 1995.

Andrew Gordon-Saker has been appointed a High Court taxing master (costs judge).

He has been a deputy costs judge since 1994.