KLegal lures tax head for new group

KLegal, the associated law firm of KPMG, has launched its tax litigation practice.

The firm has lured James Bullock from Ashurst Morris Crisp to head the department. He joins at director level, the big five accountants' equivalent to a salaried partner.

The move reunites Bullock with Stephen Machin, his former boss and head of tax at Ashursts, who moved to KPMG's M&A tax group in 1997. Machin identified seven-year qualified Bullock as the man to head the practice.

Bullock is joined by two lawyers - solicitor Mark Whitehouse from KPMG's employee issues tax group and barrister Jeremy White from its indirect disputes group.

KLegal partner James Hodgson says: "The combined expertise of the group means that we are able to compete with the best from day one."

He adds that the practice fits well with the tax alliances KPMG formed last year with US firms Morrison & Forster and Horwood Marcus & Berk. Both are members of the Saltnet tax network in the US (The Lawyer, 9 August 1999).

As revealed in The Lawyer KLegal announced last week it had recruited Rakisons' head of telecoms, Chris Hoyle.