PRIVATE PRACTICE

Partners

Bevan Ashford has made the most waves this week, with three partner hires into a new national infrastructure and regeneration team.

All are in London: Karen Cooksley and Tim Fogarty, who were respectively head of public law and property litigation at Masons, are joined by Simon Moore, previously in-house at Partnerships UK.

Elsewhere in the City, Linklaters associate Nick Bartlett moves to become a real estate partner at Eversheds.

On the south bank of the Thames, Jenny Kennedy - formerly head of personal injury at Alexander Harris - has joined Anthony Gold as a partner.

North London firm Hickman & Rose has made up Sarah Ricca, a specialist in actions against police and prisons.

Two partner promotions at Hugh James' Merthyr office: Neil Stockdale (personal injury) and Stephen Webber (clinical negligence).

In Birmingham, Nick Briggs joins Putsman.wlc as head of intellectual property from Wragge & Co, where he was a senior associate.

Clinical negligence specialist Iain Pickering has joined Hill Dickinson in Liverpool from healthcare firm Capsticks.

Leaving Liverpool is commercial lawyer Chris Wilkinson, who joins Manchester's George Davies as a partner from Bullivant Jones.

Neil Wilson has moved from MacRoberts in Glasgow to head the construction unit at Robert Muckle in Newcastle upon Tyne.

To Europe, where corporate partner Tim Brandi leaves German firm Gleiss Lutz in Munich for the Frankfurt office of City firm Lovells.

In Italy, City firm Hammonds has appointed Sergio Anania, a senior associate from Italian firm Chiomenti Studio Legale, as a banking partner in its Milan office with a brief to set up a finance law team.

Further afield, City firm Eversheds has appointed Yvonne Percival, former lead partner in Stephenson Harwood's China practice, as deputy chief representative in its Shanghai office, which opened in June.

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Associates/assistants

Five new assistant solicitors for Blakemores in Birmingham.

Amrick Saggu from Bullivant Jones in Liverpool joins to head the commercial property department.

The remaining four are Michelle Freeman (residential property) from Sydney Mitchell in Shirley, Jamie Parsons (civil litigation) from Alsters Kelly in Leamington Spa, Lakhbir Sanghera (immigration) from Hasan in Birmingham, and recently qualified Arvinder Nagra (personal injury) from Birmingham's Field Overell.

Bevan Ashford has not just hired partners for its new national infrastructure and regeneration team.

Collette McCormach and Joanne Hannah leave Masons for the firm's Birmingham office.

Two new qualifiers for Thursfields in Worcester: Alex-Jayne Lowe (business) and Claire Fenton (property).

Cheltenham-based Rickerbys has hired commercial property assistant Donna Burgess from Needham & James in Stratford.

Up to Manchester, where George Davies takes on company and commercial associate Nicky Collins from Heatons, and private client assistant Sue Rees from Lawson Coppock & Hart.

Meanwhile, Louise Robinson qualifies into the commercial property department.

New recruits at Linder Myers in Manchester are personal injury assistant Mark Howarth from J Keith Park in Merseyside, and newly qualified commercial lawyer Martin Stockdale from Jacksons in Stockton-on-Tees.

Still in Manchester, Nancy Ryan leaves Perkins to become an assistant solicitor in Mace & Jones's corporate team.

Bolton's Keoghs has three new assistant solicitors in its specialist claims unit for insurance fraud: Mark Whalley from Martin Kaye in Telford, Vicky Craig from The Clarke Partnership in Stockport, and Paul Roberts, who qualifies into the team.

Three newly qualifieds join Zermansky & Partners in Leeds: James Mendelsohn from Eversheds in Birmingham (commercial and insolvency), Nahid Malik from Ford & Warren in Leeds (civil litigation), and home-grown Victoria Askew (family).

Also in Leeds, private client solicitor John Wray joins Nelson & Co from Pinsents.

Childcare specialist Sara Blazey has joined Taylor & Emmet in Sheffield after returning from Australia, where she was principal solicitor at a community legal centre.

In the City, two new private client solicitors for Howard Kennedy: Catherine Thomas from Linklaters and Tasneem Rahman from Gordon Dadds.

Leaving the City is assistant solicitor Caroline Chilvers, who swaps Hammonds for Newmarket firm Edmondson Hall's dispute resolution and sports law team.

Also departing London, is litigation assistant Antonia Spring, joining Winchester-based Egglestones from Alexander Samuel.

BENCH

Barrister Martin Kurrein of Cloisters and one-time Clifford Chance lawyer Mary Stacey have been appointed as full-time salaried chairman and chairwoman of the employment tribunals.

Ian MacInnes, formerly a solicitor at JD Kerr Warrens in London, and one-time Slaughter and May lawyer Frances Spencer have been joined by barristers Colin Bourn, Ian Henry and Roger Rideout in being appointed part-time chairmen of the employment tribunals.

Stefan Corbanie has become deputy judge at the Belgian Labour Court.

He is head of the human resources group at City firm Eversheds' Brussels office.