Private practice

Partners


In the City, Bird & Bird has recruited Paul Briggs from BAE Systems, where he was legal director – finance and treasury, as joint head of its international aviation and aerospace team.


Projects specialist Eliza O’Toole, previously at City firm Macfarlanes, joins Bircham Dyson Bell.



Jonathan Hosie leaves national firm Hammonds to join the construction and engineering team at US/UK firm Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw.



The London office of US firm Sidley Austin Brown & Wood has hired asset finance and securitisation partner Richard Hughes from City giant Linklaters.



Property specialist Forsters has promoted Sarah Cook to partner – the first construction law partner at the firm.



Commercial property specialist Adrian Wallace joins international firm Salans from his own firm, Adrian Wallace & Co.



Penningtons has strengthened its banking and finance team with the hire of Marjena Fidalgo-Sokalski as a partner in its London office from City firm Lovells.



Media firm M Law has taken on two new partners: commercial litigation specialist Graham Henderson, previously at Clifford Chance, and Nicola Raj, an employment lawyer from Charles Russell.


In the south-east, Maidstone firm Gill Turner Tucker has promoted family law specialist Dee Whitfield to partner, bringing the total number of partners at the firm to five.



Watford-based Matthew Arnold & Baldwin has appointed Mark Weston from London firm Goldberg Linde as head of IT, e-commerce and intellectual property.



Oxford firm Herbert Mallam Gowers has promoted family law specialist Catherine Guiver to partner. The firm now has seven partners.



Two partner promotions at the Birmingham office of midlands firm Blakemores: Carol Clelland (family and child-care) and Andrea Morris (employment).



In Chester, Aaron & Partners has recruited Dicky Williams from Birch Cullimore to lead its agriculture and estates team.





Associates / assistants




On the south coast, Southampton firm Moore & Blatch has hired Rebecca Roberts from Jacobs & Reeve in Poole as a commercial property assistant.



Judith Hockin has qualified into the immigration team at the Exeter office of south-west firm Foot Anstey Sargent.


Claire Roney re-joins Somerset firm Pardoes from Bristol-based AMD Solicitors as an assistant heading up the mental health team. She will also be part of the matrimonial team in its Bridgwater office.



Bristol firm Meade-King has recruited employment assistant Nicola Hughes from north Wales firm JW Hughes & Co.



Salisbury firm Wilsons has bolstered its charities team with the hire of assistant solicitor James Aspden from Henmans in Oxford.



Ipswich-based employment firm Quantrills has recruited Priya Nainthy from the Engineering Employers Federation in Hadleigh.



Midlands firm Blakemores has promoted Sarah Jane Lockwood (claimant personal injury) in Birmingham and Joanne Bennett (family) in Leamington Spa to associate.



West midlands firm Challinors Lyon Clark has hired Simon Bond, previously at Stoke-on-Trent firm Heatons, as an employment solicitor in its West Bromwich office.


Probate assistant solicitor Michael Osborne returns to Northampton firm Tollers from Howes Percival.



In Manchester, Claire Swarbrick joins the corporate department of Nexus from Rowlands.


Three new assistants in the property department at Mace & Jones: Beth Grocott joins the Knutsford office from Davies Arnold Cooper, while Rebecca Davies and Rose Upton move to the Manchester office from West Midlands firm Gwynnes and City firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert respectively.



Three personal injury assistants have been promoted to associate at Birchall Blackburn’s Preston office: Andrew Taylor, Carlos Lopez and Derrick Harris.



Across the Pennines, Harrogate firm Raworths has hired Jo Barton, previously at the Leeds office of national firm Hammonds, as an assistant in the commercial property team, and Elizabeth Webb, a member of the California Bar who recently obtained dual qualification, as an assistant in the residential property and probate teams.



Jonathan Hall has qualified into the litigation department at Sunderland firm Mortons.



Bar/Bench


Henry Hodge, a former Deputy Vice-President of the Law Society, has been appointed a High Court judge.

Barrister Stephen Ashurst and solicitor Marcia Levy have been appointed circuit judges, assigned to the north-eastern and south-eastern circuits respectively.


Solicitor John Booth has been appointed a district judge on the midland circuit.