LAW firm Dickinson Dees has boosted its chemical and pharmaceuticals group after seeing business triple.

The Newcastle firm, which also has offices in Stockton and York, has made key appointments, taking the number of lawyers in the specialist departments to 22.

Dickinson Dees has experienced a 300 per cent increase in work over the past three years, helped by the firm's strong links with chemical and pharmaceutical companies such as Huntsman, Sabic and Shasun Pharma Solutions.

Recent appointments include Michael Hutchinson, Simon Stuttaford, Patricia Barclay and Alison Moss.

* Mr Hutchinson, who is head of the environment and safety team, has acted on some of the most significant deals in the sector in the past 15 years, having been a partner at Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw and before that at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

He advises on environment and safety issues, including climate change, contaminated land and energy.

* Mr Stuttaford is a solicitor in the same team, focusing on regulatory aspects affecting all manufacturers, suppliers and importers of chemicals under the new Reach legislation.

* Ms Barclay is a consultant, having gained considerable international expertise in senior positions with Pfizer in both the US and UK and as General Counsel with Vanguard Medica Group plc in the UK, Ferring in Copenhagen and Solvay Pharmaceuticals in Brussels.

* Ms Moss is an associate in the commercial services team, having previously worked for Sembcorb Utilities on Teesside.

Partner Peter Snaith, who worked as an in-house lawyer in the chemical sector before joining Dickinson Dees' commercial services team in 2001, said: "Our strategy has been to recruit experts with strong legal and industry experience and an understanding of the issues affecting global chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

"These appointments demonstrate our involvement with organisations like the ONE-funded North East Process Industry Cluster (Nepic)."