DWF's London headquarters. Credit: Pikist

DWF has hired two heads of departments from rival firms Ince and BLM as partners, as the U.K. listed firm looks to expand its insurance litigation offering. 

Kiran Soar, the former global head of insurance at Ince, is set to join the firm on August 1, according to one person with knowledge of the hire.

Meanwhile Vicki Swanton, who previously headed up BLM's healthcare practice, joined the firm as a partner in the first week of July, according to a person with knowledge of both moves.

Soar was one of the four sector heads to exit Ince in February, having previously been at the firm for nearly a decade, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

Swanton has been a partner at BLM since 2003, and for the previous four years has led the firm's healthcare business stream, according to her LinkedIn. Swanton started at DWF last week, according to the person with knowledge of the situation. 

The two appointments come just days after the firm announced that it was closing offices in Singapore and Brussels as well as trimming staff headcount in its Cologne and Dubai bases, as part of a concerted effort to cut costs.

On Thursday, the firm announced that a further 18 London roles would be cut.

In a trading update published the same day, the firm said that it expects its latest cost-cutting measures to achieve savings of £15 million by the end of the 2021 financial year.

 

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