Olswang set to shift work to the regions

The project, which centres on real estate litigation and management, as well as employment, is likely to see Olswang recruit more fee-earners into those groups in the Thames Valley.

Olswang managing ­partner David Stewart, who last week was elected to take over from Kevin Munslow as chief operating officer, denied that the strategy was likely to result in London-based lawyers having to move to Reading.

“We’d never ask anyone to relocate unless they ­wanted to,” stressed ­Stewart. “This is about growing the number of staff in Reading to meet client demand and freeing up our transactional teams.”

The shift to Reading is one part of a wider ­strategic review at Olswang launched last year, which is likely to see it spread its coverage ­significantly wider than the Thames Valley.

The firm polled its ­partnership last October about its strategy and its international plans.

“The strong consensus was to continue with our sector-based strategy as it differentiates us,” said ­Stewart. “We’ve also looked at where growth is likely to come from over the next five years.

“I believe - and my ­partners agree - that means looking carefully at opportunities to grow our own office network in jurisdictions where we can develop our sector-based offering.”