Manchester-based St James’s Chambers is celebrating a coup after the hire of four senior barristers from Cobden House Chambers. Charles Machin is a specialist litigator, Sean Kelly a company law expert and Jonathan Smith a local government practitioner, while Sarah Harrison focuses on trusts. The appointments will take the barrister count of St James’s chancery team to 13, with 26 in total. First revealed on www.thelawyer.com, 25 September