Merricks' commercial litigation head quits to go it alone

Guise, a fraud and insolvency specialist, is also president of the London Solicitors Litigation Association and has been heavily involved in a working group set up to generate proposals for a new Commercial Court. He plans to expand his new firm, Guise Solicitors, with the appointment of two or three assistants as soon as he has established the practice.

Merricks head of personal injury John Webster has been appointed as acting head of litigation.

Guise was head of litigation at West End firm Fairmays before it merged with Merricks in September 2002. He said that, having bedded down his practice post-merger, now was the right time to launch his own venture.

Guise told The Lawyer that he had built a large part of his practice by attracting referrals from European and US law firms.

Guise Solicitors starts trading on 1 May this year.