PwC forensic expert joins Pinsents

Pinsent Curtis' Birmingham office has recruited its first ever forensic accountant.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) senior manager Kevin Hills has been with the big five firm since 1991 and has spent the last six years specialising in forensic work, but has decided to quit PwC in favour of Pinsents. Besides citing personal reasons for his move, he adds: "It's the way the profession is going. We tend to be appointed by lawyers - they are our biggest market - but I prefer working with clients."

Hills' appointment comes only months after both Pinsents and Clifford Chance decided to move into forensic accounting.

Tony Chapman joined Pinsents' Leeds office last summer from client Sarnatech BNL (The Lawyer, 7 August), and he is now focusing on the London operation. "It's under review, particularly with the background of the merger," he says. "The plan was not to do anything for a while, but we're now in talks to bring that forward."