Denton Hall partners win top roles in DWS merger By Abigail Townsend

The Lawyer can reveal that the newly-created firm will have seven practice areas - banking and finance, energy, corporate, media and technology, property, litigation and dispute resolution, and competition.

Only one Wilde Sapte lawyer will be the sole head of a practice. Leading asset finance lawyer and current group head Adrian Miles will be in charge of banking and finance.

Virginia Glastonbury, Denton Hall's managing partner, who made the appointments, says there is no intentional bias. She says: "The bulk of new appointments are existing department heads. The bulk of Wilde Sapte is banking so quite clearly Adrian Miles should head the banking group."

She adds that as Wilde Sapte does not have energy or media departments - Denton Hall's strongest areas - it is not surprising the firm's partners do not head those groups.

Leading practitioner Alan Williams will run the media and technology group. Denton Hall partner Michael Doble will be in charge of the energy unit.

The banking and finance group will be the firm's largest and will be divided into sub-departments.

The firm will also boast a 135-lawyer litigation and dispute resolution practice, jointly headed by Liz Tout and Wilde Sapte's Mark Gill.

The 17-lawyer competition department, which is headed by top practitioner David Aitman, will be one of the largest practices in the UK.

The two remaining departments are corporate, to be headed by Tony Grant, and property, headed by Stephen Ashworth.

The non-practice posts of directors of finance, marketing, IT, personnel and professional services have also been filled.

The senior and managing partners were decided at the time of the final merger discussions.

Glastonbury confirms all management posts in the aligned firms, due to merge on 1 February, have been filled