U.K. Law Firms Making Cuts to Real Estate Practices
CMS Cameron McKenna is set to cut a number of partners from its City real estate team, with three London partners asked to leave the top 15 U.K. law firm.
The trio will depart at the end of the current financial year (April 2012), with the departures coming after the firm also made a number of partner culls at the end of the last financial year.
CMS declined to comment on the reasons for this year's cull, after last year stating that the departures were due to a performance review.
At this time last year, "fewer than 20" CMS City partners were affected by the review, which saw a number of departures and de-equitizations. Eleven partners subsequently left the firm's City base at the end of the 2010-11 financial year, including a small number of voluntary departures and retirees.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is also currently in process of cutting back its City real estate practice in response to the continued difficulties in the property market, while Linklaters is kicking off a partnership restructuring that could see up to 35 partners leave the firm.
The news comes as CMS moves to restock its Bristol insurance practice, after losing its entire regional seven-partner insurance team to Reynolds Porter Chamberlain.
The firm has relocated City partner Belinda Schofield to head the regional insurance team, while also making up insurance associate Cheryl Gibson to office partner in Bristol to support her.
In addition, a number of City partners from the insurance team will work part time in Bristol, including Simon Garrett, Alex Denslow, Martin Fox and Liam O'Connell. A team of insurance associates are also set to join RPC in Bristol, with exact numbers as yet unconfirmed.
The news also comes as CMS has appointed real estate partner Edward Benzecry as the first-ever head of its Bristol office. Benzecry, a longstanding member of the firm's senior management team, moved to Bristol 18 months ago to lead the regional real estate practice.
RPC is currently gearing up to launch in Bristol after recruiting CMS insurance and reinsurance partners Jeremy Barnes, Joe Bryant, Simon Chandler, Peter Mansfield, Rebecca Smith, Will Sefton and Rob Morris. CMS has six remaining partners in Bristol.
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