Pinsent Masons has hired two senior lawyers from Eversheds to bolster its Manchester corporate practice, it has emerged, as the national giant continues its rebound after a difficult post-merger period.

Corporate finance partner Helen Ridge will become the top 15 firm's eighth corporate partner in the northwest region when she joins in the New Year.

Ridge, who specialises in corporate finance and M&A work, is credited with launching Eversheds' national building products sector group.

Howard Gill, who was a senior associate at Eversheds, is also set to join Pinsents alongside Ridge as a corporate finance partner early next year.

The pair will work closely with Pinsents' Manchester corporate chief Sean Fitzgerald as part of the firm's 100-lawyer national corporate group.

Pinsents senior partner Chris Mullen said the hires were in line with recent growth in the firm's national corporate practice, which boosted its fee income by 20% in its half-year results.

He told Legal Week: "We have been growing fast up there in Manchester and this is just feeding that demand."

The latest hires follow a strong run of form for Pinsents, which also landed the University of London as a major new client last month after beating City competition to the instruction.

The firm is hoping for a strong 2005-06, its first full financial year since the 2004 merger between Pinsents and Masons, after the firm saw a 12% rise in turnover in the first half of its current financial year.

In September, the 265-partner firm also scooped a trio of new partners to bolster its City branch, including Lawrence Graham environment practice head Paul Rice.