DLA insolvency head joins Eversheds

Cranston will head up Eversheds' Leeds insolvency practice. He is to be replaced on a short-term basis by head of transactions Andrew Darwin.

DLA has also recruited Hammonds London-based insolvency partner Lorinda Peasland, leaving the national firm with just two dedicated insolvency partners in the City. However, The Lawyer understands that Hammonds has engaged headhunters to seek out new insolvency partners.

Hammonds has suffered a raft of departures from its insolvency department in the last year. Last summer, partners Duncan Haymes and Jeremy Bennett joined niche corporate recovery firm Holden + Co, now trading under the name of LCL Law. The firm also suspended London-based insolvency partner Andrew Visintin, who has now officially resigned, late last year.