Olswang names 10 partners in bumper promotion round

Olswang is promoting a bumper number of partners this year with a total of 10 associates making it onto the firm's partnership.

This is the largest number of promotions the firm has ever made in one go with the corporate practice gaining the highest number of new partners at four with litigation and media gaining three apiece.

Amy Collins, Paul Guite, Natasha Kaye and Anthony Waller will all enter the corporate partnership on 1 May. Collins has experience advising on joint ventures, reorganisations and M&A, while Waller and Guite work on mainstream corporate work.

Kaye, who stands alone among the new partners as having trained at Olswang, is a tax specialist and works on issues arising from corporate transactions.

Senior partner Mark Devereux claimed that the minority of home-grown lawyers promoted is not reflective of a firm preference to incomers, but is reflective of individual talent and practice area requirements. "These are the cream of the team, we don't discriminate," he said.

In the litigation department Steve Corney, Melanie Lane and Nick Lane have all made partner. Corney works in the commercial dispute resolution group, Melanie Lane on contentious and non-contentious employment and Nick Lane on construction dispute resolution.

In line with the firm's traditional media base, the media, communications and technology team made up Marc Dautlich, Robert Stephen and Sarah Wright. The lawyers cover IP, patents and trademarks, and general media work.

With four females gaining partnership the number of female promotions has doubled on last year.

All promotions are non-equity and to the London office.

Click here to see The Lawyer Partnership 2008 Blog