Kingsley Napley has expanded its family team with the hire of Michael Rowlands from Cripps Harries Hall.

Rowlands joined the firm earlier this month as a partner in the family and private client team, bringing the total number of partners in the group to six. He will work closely alongside family practice head Jane Keir.

Rowlands, a trained mediator and collaborative lawyer, focuses on mid to high net worth claims arising from divorce or cohabitation breakdown and complex disputes involving children.

Keir commented: "Michael will use his contacts to cross-sell his clients across the firm. He is a very welcome addition to the team where his experience of assisting families with an international element including offshore assets, trusts and child relocation is a perfect fit for the client base of Kingsley Napley."

Cripps Harries Hall expanded its real estate team earlier this year with the hire of Matthew Cox from Manches. Cox joined the firm's Tunbridge Wells office after almost eight years as a non-contentious partner at Manches' London headquarters.

Cox's clients have included WH Smith, Swarovski and BlackRock Property Fund, and at Cripps he will work closely with the firm's retail and investment team, focusing on retail development.