Macfarlanes Private Client Partner Hire Falls Through

Macfarlanes

Macfarlanes' hire of Charles Russell Speechlys head of private client property Ian Cooke is no longer going ahead.

According to a spokesperson for the firm, Cooke is not going to join the City firm "due to personal reasons unrelated to Macfarlanes or any other law firm".

Cooke joined Charles Russell Speechlys in 1997 from Norton Rose Fulbright, where he had been a private client lawyer for six years.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Cooke retired from Charles Russell Speechlys at the end of April.

Macfarlanes announced in February that it had hired Cooke to bolster its real estate private client offering. At the same time, the firm said it was set to lose two of its private client lawyers, including private client property head Tristan Ward, who left to join newly merged firm BDB Pitmans, and private client property senior consultant Michael Ranson, who left the firm in June to pursue a career at the Bar.

Macfarlanes has made a series of hires in recent months despite its lateral-averse reputation. In April, the firm hired former Ropes & Gray special situations partner Peter Baldwin, while in February it brought Ashurst corporate heavyweight Robert Ogilvy-Watson on board.