Private Practice


Partners



Starting off in the capital, Franc Peña joins Clifford Chance’s real estate practice from Berwin Leighton Paisner.



Carter Brod joins US firm White & Case’s capital markets practice from Baker & McKenzie.



Intellectual property specialist Helen Newman moves to Olswang; she leaves US firm Kilpatrick Stockton, where she was head of international IP.



Clarkslegal strengthens its commercial property and planning teams with three additions: Robert Draper from City firm Clyde & Co and Peter Stevens from Jeffrey Green Russell join the London office, while David Mills from Manches in Oxford moves to the Reading office.



In Tunbridge Wells, Thomson Snell & Passmore promotes Helen Stewart and Rebecca Swain to partner in the probate and residential conveyancing teams respectively.



Thornton Allen joins Hammonds’ Birmingham property team from Clarke Willmott in Bristol.



Stratford-upon-Avon firm Lodders promotes commercial property specialist Mark Lee.



Manchester firm Turner Parkinson promotes Andrew Sturge in the corporate department.



Hempsons promotes Taiyaba Waheed and Lucy Sealy in the clinical negligence department in Manchester.



Chester firm Aaron & Partners promotes David Cooney in the wills, trusts and tax team, and Peter Marsden in commercial property.



Cheshire practice Rowlinsons appoints wills and probate specialist Donna Eland as director.





Associates/Assistants



Clarkslegal recruits three associates in commercial property: George Baynton joins the London office from Jeffrey Green Russell, Malcolm Dowden bolsters the Reading office from Charles Russell and Andrew Garvey joins the Cardiff office from Swansea firm Morgan LaRoche. Meanwhile, senior solicitor Alex Seton moves to Clarkslegal’s London property team from Manches, while associate Simon Berry joins the private client team in Reading from local firm Dexter Montague & Partners.



City firm Macfarlanes appoints property assistant Hayley O’Byrne from Lester Aldridge.



Kent firm Thomson Snell & Passmore promotes Richard Ellard (commercial property) and Sue Smith (private client) to senior associates, and Brian Bacon (private client) to associate.



Family specialist Jayne Penney joins Wards’ Weston-super-Mare office from local firm John Hodge.



In Birmingham, Hammonds expands its property team with four hires: Carlos Pierce joins from Eversheds, Helen Magnani from EMW in Milton Keynes, Fiona Bradley from Cobbetts in Birmingham and Belinda Laurance from Bevan Brittan in Birmingham.



Kate Davies joins Birmingham professional indemnity firm Robin Simon from Wragge & Co.



Dudley firm Hawkins Hatton appoints general litigation associate Wendy Fox and conveyancing assistant Bhaveni Patel from The Connexion Partnership in Birmingham and Oldbury firm Michael Arnold & Co respectively.



In Chester, commercial litigation assistant Julie Keir joins Aaron & Partners from local firm Clarion.



Lancashire firm Farleys appoints Danielle Mestraud to its insolvency team on qualification with the firm.



Leeds and Bradford firm Levi appoints Sarah Crowther in the family team from Brearleys in Batley.



Manchester motoring specialist Geoffrey Miller recruits Julie Robertson; she was formerly a legal adviser at Northwich Magistrates’ Court.





Other



Probate, wills and tax planning specialist Nicholas Allan joins Dyne Drewett in Castle Cary as a consultant from The Stokes Partnership in Somerset.



George Erdozain joins London firm Harrison Drury as a consultant in the wills, estates, trust and tax planning team; he moves from the Preston office of Brabners Chaffe Street.





In-House



Kathryn Thomson joins Hampshire Trust, a private bank in Fareham set up by solicitors; she moves from ASB Law.



In Cheshire, Jamie Clarke and Brona Simmonds join developer Gladman Group; they move from SAS Daniels in Macclesfield and Knight & Sons in Staffordshire respectively.