West End litigation boutique Peters & Peters senior partner Monty Raphael is stepping down at the beginning of May, to be replaced by civil fraud head Keith Oliver.

Raphael will return to full-time fee-earning, and will continue to lead Peters & Peters’ fraud and regulatory practice. He will remain involved in the firm’s strategic development.

Managing partner Julia Balfour-Lynn continues in her current role, which she has now held for five years.

Oliver said that Raphael’s contribution to the firm’s growth has been “fundamental”, adding that it is now time to build on the achievements of the past decade.

Meanwhile, the firm is making up assistant Anand Doobay to partner. Doobay trained at Lovells before joining Peters & Peters in the fraud and regulatory team in 1999, and his cases include acting for the defendants in prosecutions brought by the Serious Fraud Office and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.