Camerons' Bristol insurance team depleted by RPC raid
Four insurance and reinsurance partners are set to leave the Bristol office of CMS Cameron McKenna in a mass defection to Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC).
Duncan Weston
Jeremy Barnes, Joe Bryant, Simon Chandler and Peter Mansfield have told Camerons that they intend to join RPC at the end of their notice period, although the timescale is unclear.
They will launch a Bristol base for RPC, with Barnes set to lead the new office.
The departures leave Camerons with three insurance and reinsurance partners in the city. The firm is to send City insurance partner Belinda Schofield to Bristol as head of the team to bridge the gap.
It is understood that RPC has also offered positions to Camerons’ remaining Bristol insurance partners and other employees in the office.
Camerons managing partner Duncan Weston informed staff at the firm this afternoon, saying the firm remained committed to insurance and reinsurance and that the Bristol team would “continue to play a key part in the development of the practice”.
The news follows RPC’s hire of insurance partner Victoria Sheratt from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, which emerged last week (15 September 2011).
In a statement RPC managing partner Jonathan Watmough said: “The Bristol team enjoys a first-class reputation in professional risks work and we’ve got to know several of them well over the years. We both serve many of the same clients and this is a very natural fit for both sides. It means that we can offer clients a top quality, out of town service and the Bristol office can leverage our deep commitment to the insurance sector and be free of banking conflicts.”
