Hardwicke signs four new tenants

Hardwicke Building has poached four new tenants as the set embarks on a major expansion drive.

The new appointments come at the same time as the set seeks family and

criminal silks to head up the burgeoning practice groups.

Chief executive Hilary Mundella, who joined the set in March, describes

the move as the start of a period of "significant growth" over the next 18

months.

Senior criminal practitioner Peter Walsh joins from Lindsay Burn's Queen

Elizabeth Building, which is also losing its entire family practice to 4

Brick Court.

4 Brick Court last month decided to refocus and practice exclusively on

family work. As a result it is shedding all tenants specialising in other

areas.

Senior family practitioner Stephen Lyon is joining Hardwicke from 14

Gray's Inn Square.

Personal injury and clinical negligence junior Charles Bagot arrives from

169 Temple Chambers and former pupil Bart Cassela has accepted the offer of

a tenancy.

This brings Hardwicke Building to nearly 80 tenants, and the third-largest

set in the country.

However, the set has often been perceived as being built on quantity and

not quality, an issue which Mundella is keen to address by recruiting silks

to head up the different practice groups.

l 5 Fountain Court in Birmingham, the second largest set in the country

with 85 tenants, has also taken on four new tenants.

Family and commercial practitioner Michael Walsh joins from St Ives

Chambers, while in September personal injury barrister Anthony Crean will

join from 40 King Street in Manchester.

Number 5 has also poached two senior criminal practitioners from rival

Birmingham set New Court Chambers, Ekwall Twana and Howard Reid.

To cope with such expansion the set has taken on additional premises in

Fountain Court, the traditional home of chambers in Birmingham. It is now

investing u350,000 on refurbishment of the building.