Hammonds partner quartet resign from firm

Hammonds is to lose four of its most senior partners, with human capital partners David Beswick and Jay Doraisamy and corporate finance partners Amanda Allen and Martin Letza all opting to leave the national firm.

All four handed in their notice earlier this week (31 March) - on one of only two days each year on which equity partners are able to resign from the firm.

Employment specialist Beswick - head of the firm's Birmingham employment practice, is set to join national rival Eversheds' employment group. It is unclear where Doraisamy, Allen and Letza are headed.

The resignations represent a significant blow to the firm's Birmingham office where Beswick, Allen and Letza are based. Doraisamy, a pensions specialist, is based in London. Their departure terms are still being negotiated.

Hammonds' Birmingham office suffered a further loss this week with the departure of head of construction Jeff Brown. Brown, who was not an equity partner at Hammonds, is joining Reynolds Porter Chamberlain as a consultant in its construction and engineering group.

Hammonds controversially overhauled its partnership agreement in 2006 in the wake of a string of partner walkouts, bringing in measures that left equity partners with only two windows each year in which to resign - 30 September and 31 March.

The last set of departures in September 2008 saw equity partners including Manchester corporate partner Gregg Davison and Leeds pension partner Terry Saeedi leaving the partnership. Birmingham disputes partner Ann Benzimra announced her intention to leave but has remained at the firm as an equity partner until the end of this month.

Davison joined national rival Pinsent Masons, while Saeedi joined Eversheds.

During 2007 Hammonds lost Manchester pensions partner Andrew Ashley Taylor, dispute resolution partner Nick Mason and intellectual property partner Paul Harris, as well as Berlin tax partner Jens-Uwe Hinder.

Hammonds posted a drop in profits per equity partner (PEP) of more than 9% for 2007-08, with PEP falling to £367,000 from the previous year's figure of £404,000. Turnover at the firm increased by 3.4% to £132m, up from last year's figure of £127.6m.

The firm's Birmingham office is currently under going a £10m refurbishment which is set to complete by the end of the summer.

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