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MANCHESTER firm Pannone was marking the end of an era last week as senior partner Joy Kingsley announced she is leaving the firm for a much smaller local rival JMW Solicitors.
Having spent her entire career at Pannone, Kingsley chose to leave because "firms evolve and I made the decision to look around".
"I'd never been to a recruiter before and was surprised by the level of interest," says Kingsley. "I reached a fairly advanced level with two firms that were bigger than Pannone, but from the beginning I was interested in JMW."
That was a process Kingsley says began recently - on 16 April. The timing is interesting - it comes as Pannone announces a new managing partner. Kingsley's successor as managing partner in 2008, Steven Grant, chose not to stand for re-election when his term finishes in December and the firm has appointed clinical negligence head Emma Holt to succeed him.
Is this pure coincidence or was Kingsley unhappy? "Emma will make a good managing partner. It isn't any reflection on her whatsoever, but it did give me a chance to reflect on what I want to do in the next...