Osborne Clarke (OC) has embarked on a drastic restructuring of its private client practice after its existing team jumped ship for Bond Dickinson this week.

In response to the departures of private client and charity law partner Mark Woodward and property partner Robert Drewett, OC has outlined plans to create a small private wealth practice focused on high-net-worth (HNW) entrepreneurs and executives. Pensions partner and board member Paul Matthews will oversee the process.

It is expected the firm will hire at least one new partner to head the team.

The loss of the Bristol-based private client team, which works on estates planning, trusts and traditional estates, comes in the wake of the exit of practice head Sandra Brown, who joined Exeter's Michelmores in May.

Bond Dickinson said the rest of Woodward and Drewett's team would also join the firm.

Drewett was a partner at OC for 22 years, while Woodward joined the firm in 1999 from Beachcroft Wansbroughs, a legacy arm of DAC Beachcroft.

David Dale, Bond Dickinson's head of private wealth, described them as a "superb team with an excellent track record and reputation".

Commenting on OC's future plans, Matthews said: "For a while now, we have puzzled over how to fit our traditional private client practice with our sector-led strategy. We see the trend of international capital flows from the Middle East, Russia and Singapore into London continuing, so the shift in our emphasis is from a South West-led private client practice to international HNWs who are likely to choose to use our broader corporate and commercial services."