UK firm Osborne Clarke has continued its expansion with the recruitment of two new corporate tax partners for its Bristol and London offices. Michael Bell and Stuart Long join the firm from Ernst and Young and Barnett Alexander Chart, respectively.
Bell joined Ernst and Young as a senior manager within the corporate tax department in the summer of 1999. Before this he was an associate with international law firm, Allen & Overy, in London.
"Ernst & Young was a good opportunity at the time, it enabled me and my family to move out of London and it was very successful, but the job at Osborne Clarke was too good an opportunity to turn down. "I'm a tax lawyer rather than an accountant and I have more freedom in this job to do what I'm good at - it suits my skills," explained Bell.
Bell had been in discussions with Osborne Clarke for some time before his recruitment and was keen to join the firm because of the strength and reputation of both the firm and the tax department.
"Outside London there are relatively few tax teams worth their salt, but Osborne Clarke is one of the few. I wanted to move to a team with a number of people, so that we could build on each other's knowledge," said Bell. "All of our partners are ex-city and while the magic circle firms are a different proposition, we can certainly rival a good many of the city firms as far as our tax advice is concerned."
Bell will be concentrating on corporate and corporate finance work, including a variety of venture capital and international work.
