Cobbetts' new partnership structure: 11 made up

North ;west ;firm Cobbetts has made 11 partnership promotions following major changes to its partnership structure.

Back in January the firm created the roles of variable equity partner (VEP) and assured equity partner (AEP), with 10 per cent of the former's remuneration being contingent on the firm hitting its budget, while the latter's earnings are based entirely on points.

Eight lawyers have just been promoted to VEP status, with the largest number - three apiece - being promoted in corporate and real estate. As reported on TheLawyer.com (28 April), a further three have become AEPs, having been promoted from the role of director. These were in the construction, housing and real estate finance departments.

Managing ;partner Michael Shaw said the promotions show that last year's restructuring was "never about creating bigger pieces of cake for the status quo", but rather about "creating opportunities for the people capable of driving this business forward".

The VEP promotions are James Bessey (planning, Birmingham), Karen Brooks (real estate, Manchester), Charles Bond (corporate, Birmingham), ;Tiffany Cloynes and Johnny Crew (real estate, Leeds), Adrian Cutler (corporate, Birmingham), Paul Johnson (corporate, Manchester) and Chris Ramage (banking, Leeds).