Taylor switches to rival Dickinsons

LEADING North East planning lawyer Paul Taylor has left Newcastle practice Eversheds Ingledew Wright to sign as an equity partner with rival firm Dickinson Dees.

Taylor, recognised as one of the region's top planning lawyers, worked with Eversheds for 12 years before joining Dickinsons this month.

Taylor is working with former competitor Paul Finch to create a department which can compete on a national level.

"This move gave me an opportunity to create a much more substantial planning department than either Dickinson Dees or Eversheds Ingledew Wright was looking to create on its own," says Taylor.

He says he hopes to help turn the department into "one with a national reputation".

Finch says the decision to sign Taylor was "an absolutely superb idea" because the two have a "good skills blend".

"He's done a lot of work with housebuilders and with minerals and I've done work with retail and office developments," says Finch.

Eversheds managing partner Nigel Robson says he is "perfectly relaxed" about Taylor's departure. Planning work will continue to be handled by partner Tim Driver.

"We can more than keep up with the work that we've got. We have another partner who has a background in planning," says Robson.