Taylor Wessing has recruited private client partner Sanjvee Shah from Speechly Bircham as part of a bid to develop the firm's practice in regions including the Middle East, Southeast Asia and India.

Shah (pictured), who joins Taylor Wessing's City office, made partner at Speechly in 2009 after joining the firm in 2006. She will joing her new firm next Tuesday (7 May), will bring Taylor Wessing's private client partner count to 23.

Shah's clients, who are based across Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, India and the US, include entrepreneurs in the financial services, property and media sectors. Her experience includes acting for a billionaire client on estate planning involving offshore structures.

Taylor Wessing private client head Mark Buzzoni said: "Sanjvee's excellent contacts, alongside her strong reputation in the market for advising high net worth private clients, fit very well with our focus on international growth."

Taylor Wessing has made a number of notable partner hires in recent weeks including top-rated Harbottle & Lewis intellectual property partner Mark Owen and Osborne Clarke digital business sector head Mike Turner.

Shah's move comes after Speechly's global head of private client Charles Gothard left the firm late last year to rejoin Macfarlanes after leaving for Speechly in 2005. Speechly is also currently in merger discussions with Withers about a possible combination which could create a UK top 25 law firm with revenues of around £170m.

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