Norton Rose lures LWD's Sanchez

Norton Rose has strengthened its Paris office by tempting Alain Sanchez away from Lovell White Durrant with the offer of a partnership.

Sanchez spent six years with Lovells in Paris and has experience as an in-house counsel for Exxon and 3M. His move to Norton Rose is intended to support the existing mergers and acquisitions partner. Two junior lawyers have been recruited for the same purpose.

There are 20 lawyers in Norton Rose's French operation which, said Sanchez, "may seem small for the City, but it is quite significant for the Paris market". Sanchez intends to develop an intellectual property and labour law practice so the office can provide "a more complete service to clients".

"In France," he added, "the clients expect lawyers to be more generalist with particular areas of strength, rather than a complete specialist."