The traditionally tranquil summer at the bar has been a bit less quiet this year, with a number of high-profile moves and hires.

Maitland Chambers has been on the hunt for a new chief executive for some time after Peter Bennett headed off to Bates Wells & Braithwaite earlier this year. Rather than relying on the old school tie network, the set hired recruitment consultancy The Glass Consultancy to find Bennett’s replacement, and eventually plumped for 7 Bedford Row’s Robert Graham-Campbell. Graham-Campbell has the rest of the year to work out his notice at 7 Bedford Row, where he has overseen a period of sustained development since coming in as chief executive in 2001. It is a canny hire from Maitland’s perspective and a good move for Graham-Campbell, who joins a quietly progressive set.

But he will be coming in as the clerking team at Maitland undergoes a period of turbulence. Before Graham-Campbell’s appointment was confirmed, senior clerk Andy Flanagan quit Maitland for Crown Office Chambers.

Flanagan takes up a new role at Crown Office, that of senior managing clerk. He will oversee the chambers’ internal management, while current senior clerk Julian Campbell will be responsible for external business development.

The structural revamp essentially sees Campbell become a de facto chief executive, while Flanagan will maintain the role of a more traditional senior clerk – scotching suggestions that he may have quit because he wanted the Maitland chief executive job.