Halliwells has made up 10 lawyers in its annual partner promotions round, twice as many as the firm promoted in 2009.

The national firm's Manchester office received the lion's share of the promotions, with seven made up – James Pochin and Kurshid Valli in corporate, commercial litigator James Lappin, insurance litigators Andrew Steel, Ann Hughes and Sandra Baldwin and Rod Hunt in the firm's regulatory practice.

The three remaining promotions come in Sheffield with Paul King made up in corporate and Emlyn Hudson and Giles Searby promoted in the commercial litigation group.

No one was made up in the firm's London or Liverpool offices.

The promotions, which take effect as of 1 May 2010, will take the firm's total partnership to 135.

This year's promotions are a substantial increase on last year, when five were made up to the partnership, while in 2008, six lawyers made the grade.

Halliwells managing partner Jonathan Brown said: "We are very pleased with the number of high quality applicants this year, which has illustrated the strength in depth that the firm has in its most important resource – people."

The news follows the announcement earlier this week (29 March) that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has promoted 18 lawyers to its partnership, with six made up in the City.

Earlier this month Slaughter and May became the first magic circle firm to announce its 2010 promotions, adding two lawyers to its partnership.