Sponsored by: mfg Solicitors
Legal
Pinsent Masons launches Vario brand in Germany
Law firm Pinsent Masons has acquired Xenion Legal GmbH, a leading name in the German freelance legal market, as well as a subsidiary company, Xenia. Xenion was established by Dr.
Carsten Reimann, in 2012. It is based in Frankfurt and is a provider of temporary legal resource for both corporate and law firm clients. During the past three years
Xenion has handled more than 150 placements. Its backers include the former Freshfields attorney and serial entrepreneur Stephan Schumacher. Pinsent Masons has also acquired
Xenia, an associated managed legal services business. Xenia, which was co-founded by
Dr Reimann, Dorothee Belz and Severin Löffler, both former Microsoft employees, and was established in 2018. It delivers legal services to a
number of prominent organisations in Germany, many in the automotive industry. The acquisitions follow a period of rapid international expansion for
Pinsent Mason’s legal resourcing brand Vario. Vario launched in the UK in 2013.
Since the appointment of former Accenture executive Matthew Kay in 2016, Vario has expanded into Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Revenues at the business
increased by 50 per cent last year. Vario forms part of a wider
group of professional services offered alongside legal expertise by
Gateley acquires performance firm
Gateley, the legal and professional services group, has acquired Cambridge-based T-three Group for £3.4m. T-three offers services and products to businesses that enable them
to develop their senior people and effect cultural change within the business itself. Its client base includes multinational companies, large public sector
organisations and SMEs across the UK and worldwide. T-three is based in Cambourne, Cambridge and employs 35 staff. The acquisition of T-three will broaden Gateley’s human capital
services, which already include another acquisition, Kiddy, bought in 2018.
Kiddy provides services to businesses looking to improve the
performance of their leaders and senior managers. Gateley chief executive Michael Ward said: “We see huge potential
from the acquisition in further expanding our human capital consultancy services, as T-three and Kiddy play to each other's strengths and fit well alongside our legal teams. “T-three is another good example of the execution of our stated
plan of being able to diversify our business and offer clients complementary business services that support the delivery of our legal services. It will sit within our Employment and Pensions group. “Kiddy has made excellent progress as part of Gateley and
demonstrated growth of almost 37 per cent ahead of our original expectations, generating £3m of fees since acquisition. “The opportunity to leverage the strengths of both T-three and
Kiddy in the human capital space is a really exciting one for us all, particularly given the skills and experience within their teams and the calibre of clients both businesses have in their portfolios.”
February 2020 CHAMBERLINK 89
Matthew Kay: Landmark acquisition
Pinsent, and generates around £17m in revenues. Matthew Kay, managing director
of Vario, said: “This is a landmark development in the growth and internationalisation of Vario. There are three strategic plans to this acquisition. “First, we see this as an effective
way to launch the Vario brand in Germany. Second, Xenion has an impressive client list whom we think could benefit from a wider range of services available through both Vario and Pinsent Masons. “Finally, this acquisition will help
us respond to increased demand for scalable flexible resource particularly in respect of secondments and class actions. “This is something that Pinsent
Masons’ German business is seeing a lot in the market, and where the ability to scale legal resources up and down to meet demand is an essential part of an effective response.” The Vario business in Germany
will be run out of Frankfurt with Matthew Kay taking overall management responsibility.
Sector Focus
Backing for flexible work experience
A Sutton Coldfield law firm is urging businesses to adopt a more flexible approach when offering work placements, to ensure students get the full benefit of experiencing the workplace. Bell Lax Solicitors claims the
traditional approach of week-long work experience placements for students is outmoded. Legal director Richard Kerry said: “When a student comes in for a week it can be quite hit-and-miss in terms of what there is for them to do, and it doesn’t allow them to see how an ongoing case can progress. So, you end up with people making tea or doing filing, and not really benefiting from the experience.” As a result, Bell Lax is working with
local schools to create a more flexible approach to work placements. Bishop Vesey School sixth
former Aidan Tse-Stuart, 16, visits the Sutton legal firm for two hours a week at its base in the iconic former TSB Bank building near the Empire cinema. Aidan said: “I find it a very useful
way of doing work experience, as it allows me to follow cases as they change from week to week and get a better understanding of how the legal system works.”
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