Serle Court has appointed a new head of chambers and taken on two senior members of the judiciary as it emerges that current chambers head Lord Neill of Bladen QC is quitting the leading commercial Chancery set.

Former Court of Appeal judge Sir Jonathan Parker and High Court judge Sir Gavin Lightman are set to join Serle Court's alternative dispute resolution panel as arbitrators and mediators.

Parker, a qualified mediator, was called to the Bar in 1962 and took silk in 1979. He became a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2000, stepping down from the bench earlier this year.

Lightman, who was called to the Bar in 1963 and took silk in 1980, is set to retire from the High Court Bench in the new year.

The appointments will be regarded as a coup for the 48-tenant set and come with Alan Boyle QC set to take over as head of chambers, with the outgoing chambers head set to join his brother, Sir Brian Neill, at 20 Essex Street.

Commenting on the developments, Serle Court chief executive Nicola Sawford said: "The addition of two eminent former judges to our august panel of ADR specialists, and the appointment of a highly respected new head of chambers, will enable us further to build on our reputation as among the most forward-looking and modern sets at the Bar."