PRIVATE PRACTICE

Partners

Plenty of action in the capital this week: Jeremy Hershkorn, head of litigation at Evans Dodd, has joined London boutique property firm Portner & Jaskel to lead its commercial litigation department.

Joseph Hyde joins from the same firm as a property consultant, while two Morgan Cole partners also join as consultants: Jonathan Cantor, former landlord and tenant team leader, and Leslie Gascoigne.

Seven partner promotions at niche City aviation practice Beaumont and Son: Austin Barham, Peng Lim, John Samiotis and Patrick Slomski join the equity, while Alex Ferrari, Sohair Mustafa and Sarah Catchpole (in the Rio de Janeiro office) become salaried partners.

Two new London partners for US firm Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft: tax specialist Anthony Davis and banking and finance lawyer Matthew Williams have been made up.

Structured finance and securitisation specialist Margaret Boswell joins the City office of French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel, leaving Cayman Islands firm Maples & Calder, where she was managing partner of the London office.

Private client specialist David Biddle leaves Pinsents for Russell-Cooke in London.

Alex Chapman, a specialist in new media, interactive entertainment and computer games, is promoted to partner at niche north London firm Briffa.

Richard Barnett, former co-senior partner at Barnett Sampson, moves to north London firm CKFT as a company and commercial partner.

Corporate partner Jeff Jenkins leaves Morgan Cole for Clark Holt in Swindon.

Moving up to the midlands, banking and insolvency specialist Alistair Hardie is promoted to partner at Birmingham's Martineau Johnson.

Construction partner John May joins Freethcartwright in Nottingham from DLA.

In Stockport, Valerie Bown (private client) and Lorraine Harvey (divorce and financial settlements) are both made partners at Gorvins.

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Associates/assistants

Two associate promotions at London firm Collyer-Bristow: Silvia Fazio (international commercial law) and Neil Parkes (non-contentious intellectual property).

A double assistant solicitor hire at media firm Peter Carter-Ruck & Partners in the City: Magnus Boyd (media litigation and defamation) from Schillings and Robert Dougans from Herbert Smith (defamation).

Commercial litigation associate Melissa Quay joins Loble Solicitors in London from Ilberys in Perth, Australia.

Assistant solicitor Mike Gregory moves to London property firm Portner & Jaskel from Routledge-Modisi in Johannesburg.

In north London, matrimonial assistant solicitor Tom Farley-Hills joins CKFT from Bolt Burdon.

Two assistant solicitors join Davies Lavery's Maidstone office: James Russell (technology) from SAS Software and Sabahhit Ali (employment) from Taylor Walton.

Moving to Kent is assistant solicitor Lynne Horay, who leaves The Bower Cotton Partner-ship in the City for Furley Page's commercial team.

Property assistant solicitor Louise Glover moves to Clark Holt in Swindon from City firm KLegal.

In the south-west, corporate associate Simon Staples joins Bevan Ashford in Exeter from Birmingham's Wragge & Co.

Matrimonial associate Ian Davies joins the Milton Keynes office of Gorvins from Kidd Rapinet, where he was an assistant solicitor.

Moving north, another Simon Staples joins the defendant litigation practice at Davies Lavery in Birmingham as an associate from Eversheds.

Senior associate Pam Scott moves to Gateley Wareing in Birmingham from Eversheds - she specialises in residential and mixed-use development work.

At Brooke North in Leeds, Rebecca Pickering (corporate) joins from Field Fisher Waterhouse in the City, Andrew Joyce (commercial litigation) moves from Blacks in Leeds, and Gina Moxey qualifies into the commercial property department.

All are assistant solicitors.

At Addleshaw Goddard's private client team in Leeds, Sylvie Nunn is promoted to associate, and Amanda Simmonds joins as a senior associate from Boodle Hatfield in the City.

Adam Hartley joins DLA in Leeds as a senior associate in the HR team from City firm SJ Berwin, where he was a senior solicitor.

Ford & Warren in Leeds takes on three new lawyers: associate Justin Johnson (tax and probate), assistant solicitor Elizabeth Owen from Halliwell Landau (tax and probate), and assistant solicitor Susan McQuade from incorporated firm Davidson Webber (commercial property).

Deborah Finan (commercial property) and John Barker (technology) are promoted to associate at Last Cawthra Feather in Bradford.

IT and intellectual property associate Michelle Armstrong joins Baines Wilson in Carlisle from Newcastle firm Ward Hadaway.

BAR AND BENCH

George Mann QC has become a High Court judge in the Chancery Division.

Solicitor Ann Goraj has become salaried part-time chairman of the employment tribunals.

Dan Goyder, a consultant at Ipswich firm Birketts, has been appointed to the panel of chairmen of the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Barrister Mark Forte of 8 King Street Chambers in Manchester is leaving the UK to join Conyers Dill & Pearman in the British Virgin Islands as head of litigation.