PRIVATE PRACTICE

Partners – promotions


The promotion season is in full swing, with Clifford Chance leading the way this week with 37 new partners, just eight of whom are in the London office: Julian Acratopulo and Andrew Horne (litigation and dispute resolution), Sonya Branch and Simon Cooke (corporate), Rebecca Ford (real estate), Simeon Radcliff and Chris Walsh (capital markets), and Emma Folds (finance). This brings to 605 the number of partners worldwide.


Linklaters is up to 520 partners after making up 32, of whom 12 are in London: Robert Cleaver, Nick Rumsby, Tom Shropshire, Richard Youle and Nicole Kar (all corporate); Edward Chan, Annette Kurdian, Olga Petrovic, Ben Dulieu, Paul Lewis and John Pickett (finance and projects); and Euan Clarke (commercial).


Allen & Overy makes up 33, 16 in London, giving the firm a total of 440 partners. Those in London are: Greg Brown, David Campbell, Melissa Samuel, Andrew Fraiser, Matt Huggett and Jennifer Marshall (all banking); Antonio Bavasso, Alun Eynon-Evans, Debbie Harris, Stephen Mathews and Matthew Townsend (corporate); Vanessa Hardman (ICM); Arnondo Chakrabarti (litigation); and Mark Middleditch and John Taylor (tax).


Trowers & Hamlins promotes eight, bringing the total number of partners to 89: Andrew Sneddon (tax), Lucy James and Peter Parsons (dispute resolution), Christopher Pedder (projects and construction), Scott Dorling (public sector commercial), Catherine Hunt and Steven Smith (housing) in London, and Jon Kiddle (commercial property) in Manchester.


Wedlake Bell promotes three to boosts its partner numbers to 43: Gillian Akerman (media, IP and commercial), Ravinder Mahal (employment) and Jeremy Raj (residential and commercial property).


Construction firm Fenwick Elliott promotes Karen Gidwani and Toby Randle, taking partnership to 12.


National firm Osborne Clarke promotes eight, six of whom are based in the UK: in Bristol, Philip Davies (construction), Jonathan Hazlett (employment, pensions and incentives), Simon Spooner (corporate) and Ian Wilkinson (property); and in London, Richard Brown (employment, pensions and incentives) and Chris King (corporate finance).


The promotion of corporate specialist Abigail Owen at Crawley’s Rawlison Butler takes the partnership to 13.


Reading firm Boyes Turner promotes commercial property lawyer Nick Carter, making it a 25-partner firm.


In Milton Keynes, Franklins promotes Andrea Wyld in its corporate services team; she becomes the firm’s 11th partner.


Roythornes is now a 22-partner firm after promoting commercial and property litigation lawyer Caroline Gumbrell in its Spalding office.


Leicester firm Spearing Waite promotes three: Amanda Badley (employment), and Jonathan Foster and Swati Somayia (both family). The firm now has 12 partners.


In the north-east, TBI promotes head of commercial disputes Alison Tate and family lawyer Kirstey Maloney, bringing the partnership count to 16.




Partners – hires


In the City, Withers expands its employment team with the capture of Elaine Aarons, who has headed the team at Eversheds’ London office for more than 16 years.


Corrine Aldridge joins niche City employment firm Archon following the dissolution of Aldridge Parker.


On the south coast, Blake Lapthorn Linnell recruits Costas Andrea to head its travel unit; he was formerly a lead partner of the personal injury and travel department at Penningtons in Guildford.


Leaving the City is construction specialist Doug Masson, who swaps Baker & McKenzie for Howes Percival in Milton Keynes.


Two join regional firm Clarke Willmott: Mark Brown moves from Hewitsons in Northampton to the property development team in Birmingham, and Kate Gardner leaves Stones in Exeter to join the Bristol employment team.


Joining Hewitsons, however, is property specialist Marc Carter, who moves to the Nottingham office as a partner designate from DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary’s Liverpool office.


Shoosmiths boosts its Nottingham corporate team with former Eversheds partner Chris Garnett, who joins as an equity partner.


Also leaving Eversheds is commercial litigator John Cadywould, who has moved across Norwich to Rogers & Norton.


In Leicester, Neesmesh Mistry joins Spearing Waite’s newly formed insolvency and corporate recovery team from Morgan Walker in London.


Commercial property partner Allan Sumner returns to Preston firm Napthens after a spell at nearby Ricksons.




Associates/Assistants


Assistant Sarah Moore joins Leigh Day & Co’s international claims team after qualifying at City giant Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.


Buckinghamshire firm Bruce Lance & Co appoints private client assistant Jo Morgan, who moves from Reading firm Blandy & Blandy.


Crawley firm Rawlison Butler appoints three real estate assistants: Jaclyn Smith from Aberystwyth firm Powell Callen, Alexandra Lloyd-Foster from Staal & Staal in London, and Carmen Chan from Miller Homes in Woking.


In Bournemouth, Christopher Lathbury joins Lester Aldridge’s family team from Hampshire firm Meesons.


Three new senior associates for Clarke Willmott: Chidem Aliss joins the IP team in Southampton from Shoosmiths in Whiteley, Daniel Eames joins the family team at the Taunton office from Dawsons in London, and Susheel Gupta moves to the Birmingham corporate team from West Midlands firm George Green.


ASB Law appoints recovery and insolvency associate Rosemary Madders in Brighton from Thomas Eggar, and commercial litigation solicitor Samantha Thomas in Crawley from Philippsohn Crawfords Berwald in the City.


Private client associate Patricia Wass joins Foot Anstey’s Plymouth office from local firm Nash & Co, and Susie Halliday joins the employment team in Taunton from Clarke Willmott.


Three join TLT in Bristol: corporate tax associate Philip Alfandary moves from Charles Russell, and assistants Rebecca Key and Laura Small both join the real estate team from Beachcroft Wansbroughs.


Suffolk firm Prettys promotes four to associate: Kelly Landles (employment), George Utting (estates and financial services), Matthew Clemence (family), and Jonathan Greenhalgh (property).


In Norwich, two assistants join Rogers & Norton: Margaret Smith (probate) from Hatch Brenner, and Heather Little (residential conveyancing) from Cozens Hardy.


East Midlands firm Roythornes strengthens its private client team by recruiting Craig Delaney from Norfolk-based Hawkins.


Personal injury specialist John Das joins Derby’s Flint Bishop & Barnett from Goodger Auden in Burton on Trent.


Roger Whipp joins the outsourcing, trade and technology team at Birmingham firm Wragge & Co as a director; he was formerly a senior in-house lawyer at British Airways.


Meanwhile, commercial property specialist Dawn Short leaves Wragge & Co to join Leamington Spa firm Ollerenshaw.


Also leaving Wragge & Co is tax associate Andrew Noble, who joins Browne Jacobson’s Birmingham office.


Leeds firm Walker Morris has named Jeanette Harwood as a director to launch a dedicated regulatory services team; she leaves an in-house role at Provident Financial.


Daniel O’Gorman joins Leeds firm McCormicks as a senior corporate finance associate, moving from City firm Travers Smith.


Manchester’s Lockett Loveday McMahon expands its corporate team with the addition of senior solicitor Jonathan Davage from local firm Turner Parkinson.



OTHER


Jacquetta Castle is to join Pinsent Masons’ professional liability practice in London as a consultant; she moves from Charles Russell, where she was a partner and joint head of its practice.


Richard Carleton, former senior partner at Slough firm Barrett & Thomson, joins local firm Aston Bond as a consultant in the commercial department.


Richard Sherwood, who has been senior partner at Buckinghamshire firm Bruce Lance & Co for 23 years, becomes a part-time consultant with the firm following retirement.