Lawrence Graham (LG) has hired Orchard partner Simon Malcolm for its employment department.
Employment litigation specialist Malcolm will join the firm next month as the department’s second partner alongside group head Yvonne Gallagher.
His appointment follows the departure of former department head Georgina Keane who left LG in April to set up her own practice, Keane & Co.
Keane had been with LG for a year. Formerly the head of employment at Richards Butler, Keane was brought in to chair the LG employment practice and jointly managed the employment group with Gallagher.
Gallagher said: “The conclusion was that it did not work out but there are no ill feelings.”
Keane, who told Legal Week she had wanted to open her own practice for a number of years, said she hoped to be joined by a partner in the coming months.
Malcolm has acted for UNISON, TMP Worldwide and Pitney Bowes.
The loss of Malcolm is a further blow for Orchard, which was hit earlier this year by the departure of four partners to the London office of US firm Altheimer & Gray.
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