Bermuda law firm Wakefield Quin says business is booming ? and to keep up with demand for their services, the group has hired leading lawyer Jai Pachai away from rival firm Appleby Spurling and Hunter.

The firm has also promoted one of its own, Richard Horseman, to partner.

Senior partner Joseph Wakefield said: ?Richard Horseman has been with me [at Wakefield Quin since 1998 and before that at Smith, Barnard and Diel from 1996. I wanted him to be a partner for a long time and he?s finally been trapped into it.

?As for Mr. Pachai, I think the whole firm is delighted that he has joined us. Not just the lawyers, but the staff too because not only is he a great lawyer he is very personable too.?

Mr. Pachai, 50, joined WQ after more than 24 years with Appleby?s practising civil and commercial litigation. He said he plans to stick to these areas in his practice at Wakefield Quin.

As for the reasons behind his move, Mr. Pachai said he decided to trade in a ?more institutional environment? at Appleby?s for Wakefield Quin?s ?mid-size, more congenial, interactive? atmosphere.

?I?ve always admired the quality of the work and the people at Wakefield Quin and I am looking forward to making a contribution to their success with my past experience,? he said.

Partner Mark Pettingill said he was thrilled that Mr. Pachai was joining the firm, having known him since 1989 when a law student.

?Jai was effectively the first litigation attorney that I ever worked with. For me it is exciting, years on, for him to come and join this firm.?

He added that he and Mr. Horseman had long been friends. Mr. Horseman?s wife Yoga Horseman is also a lawyer with the firm.

Mr. Horseman, 42, said :?I go back along way with Mark and I go back with Joe Wakefield since I first began practising as a lawyer.

?As Jai has pointed out we are not so big that we can?t be personable. That is part of the service we aim to provide to clients; not just to be a number and a dollar sign but to provide a personalised service. I consider the other four partners to not only be business associates, but friends. Certainly I?m ecstatic to be asked to join Wakefield Quin as a partner and look forward to a successful future with the firm.?

Management described Wakefield Quin as a multi-faceted firm with six litigators, six corporate attorneys, a full complement of corporate administrators and a large conveyancing practice.

The firm said it has now has ramped up its team to include 14 lawyers ? five of who are partners ? for a total staff of 36.

Mr. Pettingill ruled out any merger activity in the near future, after numerous changes to Bermuda?s legal landscape in recent years.

?Nothing is in the pipeline but we certainly anticipate steady growth in our practice,? Mr. Pettingill said.

Wakefield Quin is itself the result of several mergers with forerunning firm Hector Dwyer becoming Hector Dwyer Wakefield Pettingill and finally, about five years ago, Wakefield Quin.

The mergers and name changes were probably for the best given the Hector Dwyer Wakefield Quin name getting the firm confused with automobile and appliance dealer HWP, Mr. Pettingill said.