Foot Anstey insolvency team joins Michelmores

West ;Country ;firm Michelmores has raided local rival Foot Anstey for an insolvency team.

The firm has poached partner Gillian Smith, part-time consultant Stephen Lawson and associates Sasha Pickering and Sue Bunning. Lawson will join Michelmores as a partner.

Michelmores head of restructuring and insolvency Charles Maunder said the four, who will be based at the firm’s Exeter headquarters, would bolster the corporate insolvency practice while also bolting on a personal insolvency dimension.

He said: “From the team’s point of view it gives them a new direction in a larger-size insolvency practice, with the opportunity to work on some big-ticket restructuring deals.”

The loss of the team will come as a blow to Foot Anstey, which is targeting a turnover of £22m by 2011. The firm posted a revenue of £19.4m at the 2007-08 year-end.

The firm's head of Insolvency Julian Trahai, said "We are always sorry to lose longstanding colleagues but are increasingly led by client demand to focus on corporate insolvency work.

"We wish them well for the future and are pleased this has been an amicable arrangement."