SJ Berwin has secured the high-profile appointment of former Linklaters managing partner Tony Angel as a non-executive director.

Angel (pictured), who took up the role this month, will advise the UK top 20 firm's partnership board on strategy and execution.

He is currently chief executive of healthcare technology group Vantage Diagnostics, a role which he will retain alongside his involvement at SJ Berwin.

Angel was managing partner at Linklaters from 1998 to 2007 and saw the firm increase its turnover by 57% in the last three years of his term.

Following his departure from Linklaters, Angel took up a role as executive managing director and head of EMEA at ratings agency Standard & Poor's.

Angel said: "I really enjoyed working in a professional services environment and I continue to retain a great interest in this field and in the law, so when SJ Berwin approached me about the role, I thought it would be a good way to maintain contacts and impart experience in this field.

"SJ Berwin is a fine firm with some interesting challenges and great people, so I look forward to helping them as they continue to grow going forwards."

SJ Berwin senior partner Jonathan Blake said: "This is an important appointment for the firm. We are delighted to have access to Tony's hugely relevant experience and expertise, both within and beyond the legal profession, as we take SJ Berwin through its next phase of growth."

The news follows the completion of SJ Berwin's governance overhaul last month, with the firm confirming its new management committee. The governance review had been ongoing since November last year.

The committee, which will oversee day-to-day management issues at the firm, comprises managing partner Rob Day, corporate head Steven Davis, finance head Jeremy Cross, litigation head Craig Pollack and real estate co-head Simon Ricketts as well as intellectual property partner David Rose and corporate partner Simon Witney.

  • Click here for a Legal Week interview with Tony Angel from 2009, and click here for a 2007 profile from The American Lawyer.