Derek Baird, one of two London-based private equity partners at Lovells, the UK law firm, has left to join Allen & Overy and will take UK buy-out house Charterhouse with him as a client. Three months ago, Lovells' head of its German private equity practice quit.

Baird, who joined Lovells in 2002 from Scottish law firm Dickson Minto, is relationship partner for Charterhouse.