Charles Gothard of London-based Speechly Bircham is leaving the law firm in the spring of 2013 to rejoin Macfarlanes as a partner.

Gothard trained and qualified at Macfarlanes, the international law firm, but left to join Speechlys in 2005. He spent the last eight years as a member of Speechlys' private client practice and will be succeeded as head of the international tax and wealth structuring team by Mark Summers, a partner who runs the Zurich office.

Speechlys said in a statement that it remains "well positioned" to continue growing internationally, having recently strengthened its private client unit with the appointment of lawyer James Trafford as a partner. As previously reported, Trafford represented the eighteenth member of the private client team and was formerly head of the private client team at Wilsons in Salisbury. 

John Ward, partner and head of private clients at Speechlys, said the firm will work closely with Gothard until his departure to ensure a smooth transition for clients.