Clifford Chance (CC) senior New York litigation partner Jim Benedict and junior partner Sean Murphy have quit for Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy.

Benedict, who was seen as a key supporter of Rogers & Wells’ 2000 merger with CC, is thought to be unhappy with CC’s strategy in the US. Mark Kirsch, CC’s US litigation head, said: “We are committed to our model and strategy. We under-stand Jim prefers a different model.”