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A law firm has chosen Birmingham to base its fourth º£½ÇÊÓƵ office.

Devonshires, which is headquartered in London and also has teams in Leeds and Colchester, has opened the operation in Temple Street in the city centre.

It has hired housing corporate and governance partner Gemma Bell, from Penningtons Manches Cooper, who specialises in advising housing associations on large corporate projects including mergers and acquisitions, group consolidations and joint ventures.

She has also contributed to the National Housing Federation's latest version of Model Rules, the sector's most widely used constitutional document.

Ms Bell is joined by three other lawyers specialising in advising on corporate, regulatory and governance issues.

They are senior solicitor Rose Klemperer, who is also the co-founder and co-chair of Women in Social Housing Midlands, and solicitors Ellen Damlica and Sharon Thandi.

Ms Bell said: "I am honoured to be able to spearhead their opening in Birmingham. There's a real synergy with the work of my team and that of Devonshires. All four of us are really excited by what we can achieve."