Macfarlanes has made a double partner hire to strengthen its restructuring and litigation teams with Francis Bridgeman and Barry Donnelly joining from Allen & Overy (A&O) and Jones Day respectively.

Jones Day partner Donnelly and former A&O consultant Bridgeman will both join Macfarlanes' partnership later this month (10 September), with the firm predicting an increase in litigation and restructuring mandates in the wake of the credit crunch.

Litigator Donnelly, whose clients include Standard Bank, WestLB, Credit Suisse, UBS and JP Morgan, will take up a newly-created position heading up the firm's banking and financial services litigation practice.

Meanwhile, Bridgeman, who has worked on behalf of a number of major financial institutions, has advised on complex restructurings including British Energy, Helly Hansen and Jarvis.

The hires are rare lateral appointments for Macfarlanes, representing the first time the firm has made a double partner hire since 2003, when it recruited Norton Rose's Tom Speechley and Bronwen Jones from Kirkland & Ellis to expand its acquisition finance team.

Macfarlanes senior partner Charles Martin said: "As a firm we have made very few lateral hires. We have made exceptions in these cases as we are committed to taking advantage of the many opportunities that these markets offer.

He added: "[These hires] allow us to remain responsive to our clients' needs in today's rapidly-changing market conditions and ensure that our clients always receive the highest quality advice."

The news comes after the City firm brought in financial services specialist David Berman as a partner from Dresdner Kleinwort earlier this year (17 March). Berman joined the City firm's investment funds and financial services group.

Macfarlanes, which is heavily exposed to the private equity market, last year saw its profits per equity partner plunge by 31% to £846,000. The drop came against an 11% fall in turnover to £99m, down from £111m in 2007-08.

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