Employment partner joins 15 Old Square

NORTON Rose employment partner Melanie Tether is leaving the practice to become a pupil barrister at 15 Old Square.

Tether, who joined the firm seven years ago, will start a six-month pupillage in March at the chambers of John Melville Williams QC.

The chambers, which has been involved in the mineworkers and dockers' disputes, is a leading union applicant set.

Tether has built up a specialist niche practice within the education sector. Insiders predict she will bring in more respondent casework for the set.

Tether says she is moving because she wants to become more involved in advocacy.

"As a partner in a team you have a lot of administrative and managerial responsibilities and I think it's difficult to combine that with practice as a full-time advocate," she says.

"15 Old Square is one of the leading employment sets. Moving into the Bar, I want to retain and develop my specialism."

15 Old Square's senior clerk, John Taylor, says the chance to recruit Tether "is an opportunity that doesn't arise even once a decade".