The London arm of Pillsbury Winthrop has hired a top-ranking e-commerce partner from Osborne Clarke's (OC) Reading office to start up a new e-commerce and technology practice as the top 30 US firm ramps up its ambitious plans for UK expansion.

Ashley Winton started on Monday (6 January) and becomes the first UK-qualified partner in the office after previous UK-qualified partner John White left for Baker Botts last year.

Winton told Legal Director: "I have been given a mandate to build a team and coming into a US firm with such a strong technology and IP capacity – we have 250 lawyers specialising in it – is a great opportunity."

Winton has been granted the remit to build up a new practice group and becomes the third partner in the San Francisco-based firm's London office.

The news comes as part of the US firm's two-pronged European strategy, revealed by Legal Director last month when the firm's chair, Mary Cranston said that Pillsburys would make senior lateral hires as well as targeting a large UK firm with strong continental ties for a transatlantic merger.

Winton was one of OC's top partners and started his career at Clifford Chance before moving to the now disbanded accountancy-tied firm Garretts.

He then left with Richard Kemp to start up Kemp & Co (now Kemp Little) before moving to OC's London office in August 1999 and then to Reading the following November.

Pillsburys' London managing Dave Snyder told Legal Director: "Ashley is a very good lawyer and the IP/IT skills fits in well with our US practice."

The move leaves OC with a six-lawyer technology team in Reading under the lead of Russell Bowyer.

Winton is the latest in a stream of departures from the Bristol-based firm in 2002, although the bulk of the losses have come from the regional firm's London arm.

Rival UK firms to pick up OC defectors include Speechly Bircham and Denton Wilde Sapte.

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