DWF has made a double partner hire from DLA Piper as the firm moves to strengthen its litigation and corporate teams in the wake of its recent takeover of Cobbetts.

Litigation partner Andrew Harris – who is top ranked by Chambers and Partners for disputes in Manchester – is joining DWF from DLA's Manchester base, and will take up a UK-wide role at the fast-growing firm. He is expected to spend the majority of his time in Manchester and Leeds.

He focuses on company law, corporate governance, boardroom and shareholder issues, schemes of arrangement and capital restructuring.

DWF national litigation head Graham Dagnall said: "We invest in the very best talent in legal services and we believe that Andrew, who is known for being able to turn difficult situations around to provide useful and practical solutions for clients, will bring added strength to our litigation team, on both a regional and national level."

Meanwhile, DWF is also taking on DLA corporate partner Paul Rimmer to head up its Liverpool-based corporate team.

Rimmer, who was made up to partner at DLA in 2006, has since taken roles on major deals including advising Pets at Home's management on the £955m sale of its business to KKR in 2010, as well as the £70m acquisition of Crown Paints by private equity house Endless in 2008.

DWF national corporate head Stephen Houston commented: "Paul is a highly respected figure in the northwest business community and his level of M&A and private equity experience ensures he will be a key addition to the team."

The hires follow DWF's recent takeovers of collapsed firm Cobbetts and professional indemnity specialist Fishburns, which together will see revenues reach the £200m mark, with partner numbers rising to around 300. This January, DWF also secured a 22-strong banking and finance team from Chafes in Manchester.

The exits mark the latest UK partner departures for DLA, which last month also saw planning partner Chris Bowes leave the firm for Nabarro. Bowes, who is top ranked by by Chambers for Manchester planning work, led DLA's Manchester planning practice and helped to build up the Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester practices during his twelve years at the firm.

He has joined Nabarro's Sheffield office, where he has been tasked with growing its local planning team.

This January DLA saw a four-partner Manchester real estate team leave for Irwin Mitchell, while more recently, intellectual property and technology partner Mark Crichard has joined RPC in London.

Last month three DLA Glasgow partners opted against a move to Edinburgh, with a team led by Scotland restructuring head Yvonne Brady instead joining HBJ Gateley.

DLA is set to close its Glasgow office by the end of April following a review of its UK business, with approximately 45 members of staff made redundant, while Hill Dickinson has sealed a deal to take on its defendant insurance practice in Sheffield and Manchester.

The firm is also currently in the process of centralising its 116-staff document production team in Leeds, with small teams set to remain based at each of the firm's other UK offices. The exact number of job losses is yet to be decided, although it is expected that the majority of the 116 staff at risk will be made redundant.