Irwin Mitchell has strengthened its restructuring practice in Manchester with the hire of DLA Piper partner John Vickery, as the firm continues to build the commercial arm of its business.

Vickery, who leaves DLA Piper after ten years with the firm, is joining Irwin Mitchell’s Business Legal Services (BLS) division. He specialises in corporate restructuring and recovery with an emphasis on contentious work, and in 2008 led a DLA team on the administration of Virgin Megastores spinoff Zavvi.