Ashurst Morris Crisp associate Shona Price – who resigned from the firm amid claims that its property department was not making up enough female partners – is joining Trowers & Hamlins' high-profile public sector department as a partner this week.
The Lawyer reported in March that Price and two assistants, Delia Kempley and Barbara Kerin, had resigned from Ashursts' property department in successive days.
At the time, some sources at Ashursts claimed the firm was losing female talent because of an unwillingness to make them partners. But Ashursts strongly denied suggestions that women faced barriers at the firm.
It has pointed out that two of the seven new partners made up this year were women.
However, neither of them were in the property department, where all 11 partners are male.
Price would not comment on the reasons for her move, but Trowers partner Ian Doolittle, head of the public sector section, was clearly pleased to have added her to his team of three partners and 10 other lawyers.
“I have been an admirer of Shona's work since we worked together several years ago,” he said. “Her experience in the market will be a great asset to the firm and to our team.”
The other two women who left Ashursts in the same week as Price have also found new jobs. Twelve-year qualified Kerin will join Charles Russell as an assistant this week and five-year qualified Kempley has already moved to Berwin Leighton.
