PRIVATE PRACTICE

Partners


Starting in the north-east, Jonathan Waters is promoted to partner in the commercial team at Hay & Kilner in Newcastle.


Leeds firm Schofield Sweeney welcomes commercial and competition law specialist Andrew Finfer to its corporate team from Walker Morris.


David Griffiths joins the Manchester office of Eversheds as a pensions partner, leaving Hill Dickinson.


Keoghs appoints Alison Hart, formerly of James Chapman, and Sue Pawar-Price, previously at national firm Beachcroft, to the specialist claims unit in its Bolton and Coventry offices respectively.


Moving on to the midlands, BPE recruits Paul Wakefield to its Birmingham office, where he joins the corporate team from the local arm of Clarke Willmott.


Insolvency specialist John Sullivan joins DLA Piper’s Birmingham office, having previously been a sole practitioner in Malvern.


Birmingham firm Canty & Co appoints Sergei Purewal as a partner and head of its commercial and civil dispute resolution department. He moves from Clarke Willmott in Bristol.


Further south, technology specialist Jonathan Oddy joins Manches’ Oxford office from Bristol firm Burges Salmon.


Clare Suttill is promoted to partner in personal injury at Aylesbury firm Parrott & Coales.


In London, football disputes specialist Stephen Sampson is promoted to partner and head of contentious sports law at Hammonds.


Berwin Leighton Paisner boosts its employment team with the recruitment of Rebecca Harding-Hill from the London office of US firm McDermott Will & Emery.


Corporate insurance partner Jonathan Drake departs Clyde & Co to join Ashurst’s financial institutions group.


US firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton promotes three in its London office: Kate Habershon (corporate taxation), Raj Panasar (international finance), and Tihir Sarkar (corporate).


Swati Shah is promoted to partner in the property department of Vizards Tweedie.


Brian Fraiman, formerly senior partner of Fremont & Co, joins Summers’ property and private client teams.




Associates/Assistants


Doyle Clayton strengthens its employment team with the recruitment of associate Peter De Maria for its London office from US/UK firm Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, while Alistair McArthur joins the Reading office from Lamport Bassitt.


Niche Alternative Investment Market practice Fortune Law hires corporate finance associate Geoff Hazlewood from the Ipswich office of Birketts.


Employment specialist Paul McFarlane leaves the Royal Mail to join Weightmans’ London office as an associate.


Contracts lawyer Tania Williams leaves Hewlett Packard to become an associate in the London office of US firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.


Assistant Jon Durham swaps Budd Martin in Chelmsford for the property department at Vizards Tweedie.


IBB in Uxbridge appoints senior solicitor Sally Fromont to its personal injury team from Charsley Harrison in Windsor.


Aylesbury firm Parrott & Coales welcomes Iain Wanstall as head of probate, wills and trusts from Taylor Walton in Harpenden. Former trainee Alexa Carter rejoins the firm’s civil litigation team from Wake Smith in Sheffield.


Victoria Adams moves to the private client team at TWM in Guildford from Eric Robinson in Southampton.


Coffin Mew & Clover promotes commercial litigator Christian Smith to associate in its Southampton office.


To the west, where Wards recruits residential conveyancer Silvie Jones to its Yate, Bristol office from David Hebblethwaite & Co in Chipping Sodbury.


In Wales, Pontypool firm Watkins & Gunn hires Lisa Guscott (civil litigation) and Leighton McAdorey (criminal law) upon completion of their training contracts.


In East Anglia, Birketts in Ipswich welcomes Claire Yorke as an assistant in the family team after she completed her training contract at Willans in Cheltenham.


King’s Lynn firm Metcalfe Copeman & Pettefar appoints Jonathan Phillips to its criminal law department from Creed Lane Law.


In the midlands, Birmingham-based Putsmans promotes three to associate: Sam Payne (insolvency), Richard Thorpe (property litigation), and Simon Vaile (tax, trusts and estates).


Andrew M Jackson in Hull appoints five following qualification with the firm: Alex Birch (corporate), Elizabeth Duffin (commercial), Steve Knaggs (shipping and transport), Paul Newbon (shipping and transport), and Phil Robinson (real estate).


Manchester-based personal injury firm Express Solicitors elevates Daniel Slade to associate.


Rawsthorns in Preston promotes two to associate: Stephen Topping (civil litigation) and Sahida Ahmed (family).


Hay & Kilner in Newcastle promotes Mark Adams to associate in the commercial team. The firm also strengthens its clinical negligence team by hiring Clare Thompson as an associate from Freemans and Helen Morland as an assistant from Samuel Phillips.