Olswang has made an out-of-season partner promotion in response to an upturn in work in the outsourcing sector.

Matthew Bennett has joined the partnership as of 1 November in the firm's outsourcing group.

He specialises in IT, infrastructure and outsourcing transactions in the private and public sector, and his promotion takes the total number of partners in the commercial team to 21 and total partner count firmwide to 106.

The news comes after Olswang secured a first-time appointment to BP's UK panel in May this year, a win which was attributed to the strength of the firm's outsourcing group.

Bennett joined the firm as a legal director in June 2010 from technology service provider HP Enterprise Services, where he was legal director for the UK, Middle East and Africa.

Olswang chief executive David Stewart said: "Matt's significant experience with government procurement, combined with his inside knowledge working for both suppliers and customers, has put him at the forefront of his field in the UK legal sector. His skills allow him to offer our clients commercially-focused advice with a holistic view of the market."