Overseas expansion fuels growth for Pinsent Masons

Helen Ridge, head of the Manchester office at Pinsent Masons

The head of the Manchester office of law firm Pinsent Masons has said they have “continued to enjoy good growth in Manchester”, as the firm announces an 11% increase in global turnover to £423.1m on the back of strong international performance.

Internationally the firm opened its first office in Africa in Johannesburg, appointed partners to its Madrid practice and expanded plans for Dublin and its Australia operations.

It also acquired a 20% stake in start-up business Yuzu, a legal sourcing proposition for business that lies between in-house, private practice and traditional managed legal service models.

Pinsent Masons also heralded reaching its 25% target of women in partnership by 2018, after appointing 16 partners.

Across the firm, it advised AMC on a string of cinema acquisitions across Europe for $1.9bn, advised the Yudean Group on its $1.5bn acquisition of a joint control stake in Attarat Power Company, and acted for Samsung C&T on the AUD$2bn Roy Hill Iron Ore Mining dispute, amongst other standout actions.

John Cleland, managing partner at Pinsent Masons, said: “We remain committed to our vision of being recognised as an international market leader in our global sectors, and this has been borne out by the investments we have made and will continue to make.

“We are expanding our business to support clients not just across a wider range of geographies and legal service lines, but also across alternative forms of delivery model which provide innovative ways to address the challenges they face.

“That we have been able to combine that growth with improved profitability gives us significant confidence going into what is an unpredictable year.”

Helen Ridge, head of the Manchester office, said: “I’m delighted that we have continued to enjoy good growth in Manchester. Over the last 12 months we have promoted three new partners, Katherine Sneddon, Claire Edwards and Kieran Toal. I look forward to continued success in the year ahead.”

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