Wragges hires Carlton's head of legal

Wragge & Co has hired Carlton Television's head of compliance and legal affairs.

Simon Westrop joins the firm after working in-house at the broadcasting company for five years.

Westrop, who will retain Carlton as a client, believes the move will enable him to expand his personal practice. "What you find in-house is that you can become quite narrowly focused and my move to Wragges is precisely to widen out a little," he says.

Prior to joining Carlton, Westrop trained with Slaughter and May. His decision to move into the law followed a brief career as a journalist for regional newspapers and then as a producer on BBC radio.

Westrop says: "Carlton was an obvious step in a way. It joined up the two halves of my professional persona.

"I have a production background which makes it easier for me to speak the language of media clients. What's nice about Wragges is that there are a lot of people in that kind of position, who have a business background or previous industrial experience."