Eversheds has bolstered its disputes practice with the hire of James Southworth from Hill Dickinson.

Southworth joined the top 10 law firm earlier this month (18 October) as a partner in the 15-partner financial services dispute resolution team and will split his time between Manchester and London, working with practice head Paul Worth.

Southworth moves to Eversheds from Hill Dickinson's Liverpool office, which he joined as a partner in 2007. During his three years with the firm he spent nine months, from August 2009 and April 2010, on secondment to Barclays, following Hill Dickinson's reappointment to the bank's litigation panel.

In addition to his experience with Barclays, Southworth has also acted for clients including BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley, GE Capital Equipment Services, the Law Society and Phoenix Medical. His experience covers a wide range of corporate, commercial, financial and regulatory disputes and he has also advised clients on both contentious and non-contentious health and safety matters.

Before joining Hill Dickinson, Southworth spent eight years at Clifford Chance.

Commenting on the hire, Worth said: "This appointment reflects the rapid growth we are seeing in this area. His experience and client base is a great match for our team and we are delighted to welcome James on board. With the group delivering 30% growth last year, and a number of recent client wins, this is an exciting time for James to be joining us."