Former Severn Trent general counsel Clive Mottram has joined DLA Piper's Birmingham office to spearhead the firm's local water practice.

Mottram has been named as a legal director within the firm's finance and projects group. He will join the specialist energy and utilities team, which is headed up by power and water sector chief Neil Upton.

The appointment comes with DLA Piper planning to develop its utility group in Birmingham over the next five years. The firm currently has a global utilies sector group numbering around 200 lawyers across a variety of practice areas.

Commenting on the hire of Mottram, Upton said: "Clive brings to DLA Piper not only an in-depth knowledge of the water industry but also practical experience of the way it works within its regulatory and statutory framework"

Upton said the firm had opted to base the energy and utilities team in the Midlands due to local expertise and the proximity of major industry players including Severn Trent, Ofwat, National Grid, e.on and npower.

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