Eversheds recruits as former Newcastle head joins Edinburgh office

Eversheds has appointed a new corporate head in Newcastle with the hire of former Scottish Power legal director Charles Reynard.

Reynard joined the firm last month (18 January), taking over the corporate head position from Alan Fletcher, who has relocated to Eversheds' Edinburgh office in response to an increase in financial services work in the region. Fletcher spent six months on secondment to Bank of Scotland last year.

Reynard has joined Eversheds from chemical manufacturing group AZ Electronic Materials – a client of the firm – where he was general counsel and group company secretary. Before joining AZ Electronic Materials in 2008 Reynard was legal director of energy wholesale at Scottish Power and had previously served as a partner with Nabarro for four years.

As well as leading the Newcastle corporate group and advising public and private clients on acquisitions and group reorganisations, Reynard will focus on renewable energy.

Eversheds head of private equity Mark Spinner said: "We are seeing quite a lot of interest and work flowing in from energy-related business in the northeast. Reynard's appointment kills two birds with one stone given his corporate experience and energy expertise."

Reynard told Legal Week: "There are several opportunities in the energy sector and renewable energy is a growth area for the northeast. Having been a client of the firm I have seen the extent of its international capability, which is a good platform to have in carrying out the great deal of work the region is seeing."

Eversheds launched an office in Edinburgh last year with the hire of McGrigors' former managing partner and M&A specialist Colin Gray and his fellow partner Colin Mckay, who specialises in real estate finance.