Pinsent Masons LLP is an international

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to ...

which specialises in the energy, infrastructure, financial services, real estate and advanced manufacturing and technology sectors. The firm ranks among the top hundred law firms in the world by turnover. Pinsent Masons LLP has over 400 partners, a total legal team of around 1,800 people and more than 2,500 staff. More than 500 of the firm's staff are based in its international headquarters in the City of London. It has more PLC clients than any law firm except one. Pinsent Masons was named 'Law Firm of the Year' in 2016 by respected industry magazine '' Legal Business'' and 'Law Firm of the Year' 2016 at Law.com's ''British Legal Awards''. In 2015 it was named 'The Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe' by the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

''. The firm has 25 offices across Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. In 2017, Pinsent Masons entered into an association with Saudi-based law firm AlSabhan & Alajaji.

History

Pinsent Masons has roots dating back to 1769. The modern day firm is the product of a series of mergers between firms including Pinsent & Co, Masons, Simpson Curtis, Biddle & Co, L'Estrange & Brett and McGrigors. Alumni of the legacy firms include former British Chancellor

Alistair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (born 28 November 1953) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Member ...

. The firm's recent history has been dominated by a process of internationalisation. Over the past decade it has developed a presence in key major cities around the world:

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

(2007),

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

(2009),

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

(2012),

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

(2012),

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

(2015),

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

(2015),

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

(2015),

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

(2016),

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

(2016),

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

(2017),

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

(2017),

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

(2017) and

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

(2019). The firm's board is led by Senior Partner Richard Foley and Managing Partner John Cleland. In 2016 the firm announced the appointment of former Secretary of State for International Development

Douglas Alexander Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, previously Paisley South, from 1997 until his defeat in 2015. During this time, he served as ...

as a strategic adviser, and appointed its first external board member in the form of former banker Pauline Egan.

Strategy

Unlike many firms of its size, the firm professes to specialise in only five global sectors: financial services, advanced manufacturing and technology, energy, real estate and infrastructure.

Innovation

Pinsent Masons has won awards for innovation. In 2013 it was in the vanguard of firms to launch a contract lawyer service, called Vario. It also secured mandates to act as 'sole adviser' to corporates including

Balfour Beatty Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, Balfour Beatty works acr ...

and E.ON. In 2015 the firm acquired the majority stake in Cerico, an online compliance business.

Diversity

Pinsent Masons is the highest ranked professional services firm in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index. It is also ranked among ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' Top 50 Workplaces for Women 2016. David Isaac, a partner of the firm, was appointed as Chair of the UK

Equality and Human Rights Commission The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of eq ...

in 2016.

References

{{Authority control Patent law firms Intellectual property law firms Law firms based in London Law firms established in 1850 Foreign law firms with offices in Hong Kong 1850 establishments in England