Eversheds benefits from latest departure at Pinsent Curtis

Eversheds has snapped up the latest partner to leave Pinsent Curtis, which has suffered a continuing fallout of partners since the merger which created the firm.

It has lost eight partners since August, following the May merger of Birmingham-based Pinsent & Co and Simpson Curtis of Leeds.

The latest partner to leave is former head of litigation at the Leeds office Gary O'Brien, who joined Eversheds in Birmingham this month as head of property litigation.

Pinsent Curtis senior partner Julian Tonks said he was not surprised by the exodus and that it was no cause for concern. "I don't think it ought to come as an enormous surprise that there is a level of fallout after a merger," he said.

Since the merger the firm has recruited three partners to its London office and two to Birmingham.

Former head of Pinsents litigation department in London Roger Billins left last month to join London firm The Simkins Partnership as a commercial litigation partner. He was joined by his assistant Nicola Taylor.

"You always get fallout in a merger and I'm not sure whether there will be a greater fall out in this case than any other," Billins said.

Eversheds has also pulled in former Pinsents insolvency partner in Leeds Graham Ridler who joined the firm's Newcastle office this month.

Pinsents' Leeds office is also losing partner John Riches from its tax and pensions department. He is joining the private client department at City firm Withers as a partner.

Charles Powell, commercial litigation partner at the Leeds office, has joined Northampton firm Shoosmiths & Harrison.

The Birmingham office of Pinsents has lost partners Martin Citty and Karl Wernham to rival firm in the city Wragge & Co.

Last month the managing partner of Pinsent's London office, Paul Downing, left to join Arnheim & Co and head Price Waterhouse's network of European. law firms.