Michelmores hires OC private client head for Bristol base

The move comes as Michelmores lays out plans to “build rapidly” on its existing private client practice, with the head of the firm’s private client team Will Michelmore telling The Lawyer that more partner, associate and assistant hires are in the pipeline.

Brown will head the firm’s private client practice in Bristol, having spent nearly 15 years at the Bristol office of Osborne Clarke. She is expected to take up her new post ‘within the next few months’ though it is yet to be said if she is bringing over or hiring associates for her new team. Michelmore declined to comment on the latter.

Although the firm has voiced plans to “rapidly” build private client work, which accounts for around 25 per cent of the firm’s total turnover, it has no specific turnover target for this growth and is instead looking for the right people, according to Michelmores. This latest hire brings the number of partners at the firm to 53.

In November Wilsons offloaded its Bristol office to Michelmores following a protracted legal spat with two partners at the base (12 November 2012).

The deal saw Michelmores enter the top 100 UK firms by turnover, with an additional £3m expected to bring its turnover figure to £25m by the end of this year.