Hammonds has lost another team as the flood of departures shows little sign of abating.

DWF has taken two partners and five lawyers from its real estate team. Partners Nic Crocker and Simon Meek will move to DWF in the New Year.

Hammonds played down the mass exit. One partner claimed: “Everyone has their sell-by-date. DWF are a small firm, good luck to them but they are not really a competitor.”

Former Hammonds associate Edell Quinn will be promoted to partner when she joins DWF.

The move follows the transfer of Andrew Todd, former lead partner in Hammonds property disputes resolution service, and ex-senior solicitor Sophie Lawton to DWF this year.

For its part Hammonds will bring on board a new partner to the built environment team in the new year, Sonia Hopkinson an investment property specialist who has been at Cobbetts for 12 years.

The DWF hires also include the appointment of senior solicitor Stephanie Burke who was previously at Beachcroft. DWF has doubled in size since its merger with Ricksons at the start of this year and plans to hit more than £100m in fee income in the next three years.