Pinsent Masons has finalised two alternative legal services acquisitions, enabling the firm to launch its flexible lawyering business Vario in the German market.
The main acquisition for Pinsents is temporary resource provider Xenion Legal, which was founded in 2012 and is based in Frankfurt. The firm has also acquired Xenia, a sister company that operates an associated managed legal services business in Germany.
‘We’ve been looking at Germany for a long time,’ Vario managing director Matthew Kay told Legal Business. ‘It’s become a very important country for the firm with our three offices in Munich, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt. This was an obvious next step for Vario.’
The move sees Pinsents absorb a team of five in Germany, while adding approximately 100 lawyers to its pool of flexible resource. Currently, Vario has almost 800 lawyers on its books globally, with a presence in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Xenion is one of the few flexible resource providers in the German legal market and has handled over 150 placements in the last three years.
The move also comes off the back of some impressive financials at Vario. Last year the business grew revenues by 50% (adding approximately £5m) while the previous three years saw growth of 30-35%. Vario and Pinsent’s diversity consultancy, Brook Graham, contributed approximately £17m to the firm’s £482m global revenue. Kay, meanwhile, has not ruled out further acquisitions as a means to further grow Vario’s global presence.
‘We’re now trying to consolidate and build up our capabilities. But if you look at a map of Pinsent Masons, we will be looking at all the jurisdictions in which we operate. It’s an interesting development because there’s been lots of activity in the legal disruption market, but this shows law firms won’t just be holding back.’
The Vario business in Germany will now be run out of Frankfurt with Kay at the helm. The Xenion and Xenia shareholders, however, will remain within the business.
thomas.alan@legalbusiness.co.uk
