Dickinson Dees has added two former in-house lawyers to its commercial team.

The North-East firm has recruited Peter Snaith, the global legal manager of Ineos Acrylics, and Chris Graham, head of legal affairs at VA Tech Transmission & Distribution UK, part of Austrian power engineering company VA Tech.
Snaith trained with Dickinsons before leaving for an in-house role at ICI on Teesside. Having worked in a number of ICI's chemical businesses, Snaith became global legal manager for ICI's acrylic business following its 1999 sale to Ineos.
Graham's in-house experience comes mainly from positions within the engineering industry, ranging from Rolls-Royce to his most recent role at VA Tech.
Commenting on what an in-house lawyer brings to private practice, Graham said: “The in-house lawyer is often as much a manager as a legal adviser. The advice they give has to work from a management perspective as well as a legal one.”
Dickinsons has developed a habit of recruiting in-house lawyers. Snaith and Graham's arrival follows the appointment of Frank Orr, the head of Newcastle City Council's environment and procurement team, to the firm's planning team.