Law firm completes collaborative agreements with European counterparts

Law firm Mills & Reeve has signed affiliation agreements with two European counterparts.

The firm, which has an office in Birmingham, has reached agreements with Graf von Westphalen, of Germany and Van Benthem & Keulen, of the Netherlands.

Mills & Reeve has been working increasingly closely with booth firms over the past 10 years on a broad range of transactions including M&A, private equity, flotations, corporate finance, employment law and commercial disputes.

The new agreements strengthen close relationships, which already involve joint legal training programmes and regular secondee exchanges.

Graf von Westphalen is one of Germany’s largest independent law firms with five offices across Germany as well as branches in Brussels, Istanbul and Shanghai.

Van Benthem & Keulen is particularly well-known for its IURA ACTUA training programme for general counsel.
Both firms have substantial experience in advising UK businesses and entrepreneurs operating in their respective countries.

Mills & Reeve’s international offering is growing rapidly and it has worked with clients in over 75 jurisdictions in the last 12 months. A key aim of the firm’s 2020 strategy is to expand its services to international and London-based clients by successfully leveraging its global network of leading legal experts.

Tom Pickthorn, Head of International at Mills & Reeve, said: “Our international strategy is driven by a fundamental ambition – to provide our clients with expert legal support wherever they are doing business in the world. The affiliations with our friends in Germany and the Netherlands are important steps forward to achieving this strategy.

“With the uncertainties and opportunities arising from Brexit, it is more important than ever that we can provide our clients a seamless service in these key markets. The affiliation we signed in 2014 with FIDAL, the largest law firm in France, has already shown us how much our clients value this approach.”