SNR Denton is set to lose advocacy chief and former deputy chairman Rory McAlpine to the London arm of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, it has emerged.

McAlpine was part of the small group of senior partners from the legacy Denton Wilde Sapte that negotiated the firm’s transatlantic merger with US firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, which went live in September last year.