PRIVATE PRACTICE

Partners

Starting in Manchester, Stuart Irons, head of property litigation at Davies Wallis Foyster, has joined Pannone & Partners as a salaried partner.

Mark Treacher has become an insurance litigation partner at Ricksons, moving from Berrymans Lace Mawer.

Across the Pennines, Watson Esam is now a six-partner Sheffield firm after private client lawyer Richard Barlow was made up.

Neil Mocroft, formerly a partner with Adcocks, has joined fellow West Bromwich firm Turner Cary Partnership as a partner and head of commercial.

Civil litigation specialist Stephen Wood has been promoted to partner in the Rushden office of east Northamptonshire firm Hoben Johnson.

East Anglian firm Cunningham John has hired commercial dispute resolution specialist Chris Gilbert from Steeles in Norwich as a partner.

Wiltshire firm Wood Awdry & Ford now has 14 partners after three promotions: Vanessa Gist and Geoffrey Shute (both private client, Marlborough office), and David Lewis (property, Chippenham office).

To the City, where KSB Law has hired two new partners: commercial property lawyer Caroline Summerfield from Penningtons and family lawyer Linda Courtney from Harbottle & Lewis.

Lewis Silkin has 43 partners after making up Linda Convery (housing and project finance) and Gemma Taylor (employment and incentives).

Clifford Chance has made up 18 partners globally, taking its world-wide partnership to 641.

There are four in London: Ian Bagshaw (corporate), Simon Sinclair (capital markets), and Hywel Robinson and David Saleh (both tax, pensions and employment).

Just up the road in east London, it is all change at Wiseman Lee.

Paul Wershof will this month become senior partner after Peter Le Rasle retires from the partnership.

Jeremy Smith (crime) and Geoffrey Williams (property) are becoming equity partners, while Beverley Browne (wills and probate) and Linda Huggett (property) are being promoted to salaried partners.

The south-east corner of England is a hive of activity.

Travel unit head Costas Andrea has been promoted to partner at the Godalming office of Penningtons, having merged his practice into the firm last November.

Reigate-based Shadbolt & Co has made up projects lawyer Tom Pemberton and employment specialist Gavin Haynes.

The firm now has 21 partners.

Maidstone law firm Whitehead Monckton has made up senior solicitors Kerin Speedie (tax planning, wills and estates) and Stuart Holman (claimant personal injury), taking the partnership to 13.

Vanda James, head of family at Kent firm Warners, has been elevated to the partnership.

Across the Atlantic in New York, Lovells has brought in commercial litigator Joe Cyr from Clifford Chance.

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Associates/assistants

South-east firms are as busy at the lower levels as they are with partners.

Penningtons has promoted five new associates.

In the Godalming office, Laura Dadswell and Cecilia Ward (both private client), and Philippa Luscombe (clinical negligence and personal injury); in the City, Robert Wilson (commercial litigation); and in Newbury, Shashi Sachdeva (family).

Surrey firm Shadbolt & Co has hired Philip Adams as a construction associate for its London office from the Melbourne office of Australian firm Clayton Utz.

Thomas Eggar has added family solicitor Charlotte Hunter to its Horsham office from Barnett Sampson.

East Anglian firm Cunningham John has hired Neale Grearson (family) and Bob McGready (planning and local government) as associates from Norwich firm Steeles.

Mr McGready is charged with developing his area of specialisation for the firm.

Joanne Walker has left Pinsents on qualification to join Black Country firm Higgs & Sons' employment team.

A similar story at the York office of Langleys, which has brought in Jamie Burnett to its criminal advocacy department after qualifying at Talbot Walker in Andover.

OTHERS

Philip Goldenberg, formerly a senior corporate finance partner at City firm SJ Berwin, has moved to niche central London corporate and commercial property practice Michael Conn Goldsobel as a consultant.

Corporate criminal defence barrister Carole

Ferguson has joined the Leeds office of Berrymans Lace Mawer from Eversheds.