Pinsent Masons
Encyclopedia
Pinsent Masons LLP is a full-service commercial law firm
. The firm ranks amongst the top 20 law firms in the United Kingdom.
Pinsent Masons LLP has over 300 partners, a total legal team of around 1000 and more than 1,500 staff. Pinsent Masons has offices in Beijing
, Brussels
, Dubai
, Edinburgh
, Glasgow
, Hong Kong
, Shanghai
and Singapore
; and within England, in Birmingham
, Bristol
, Leeds
, London
(the headquarters) and Manchester
.
Pinsent Masons LLP offers services in the areas of major projects, energy and utilities, construction, dispute resolution (including arbitration and litigation), outsourcing
and technology, corporate finance
, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property
, insurance, employment and pensions, property and tax.
Pinsents itself was the result of the merger of Pinsent & Co, a Birmingham based law firm, and Simpson Curtis, a Leeds based law firm in 1995 with the merged firm trading under the name Pinsent Curtis http://www.totallylegal.com/content/home/career_centre/looking_for_opportunities/birmingham/firms/pinsents. In 2001, Pinsent Curtis merged with Biddle & Co, to form Pinsent Curtis Biddle.http://www.lawcareers.net/Information/News/Detail.aspx?r=598.In 2002, the Birmingham office of Garretts was incorporated into the firm. Pinsent Curtis Biddle subsequently was renamed Pinsents in 2003. On 1 March 2008 the firm went from a traditional partnership to that of an LLP.
http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/1184541/pinsents-splits-international-network-forge-alliance-salans. The strategy behind the Salans alliance being an attempt to leverage Salans presence across Eastern Europe in particular, with Salans benefiting from Pinsent Masons' large UK presence and growing presence in the Gulf and Asia http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/analysis/1255583/commentary-pinsents-salans-succeed.
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 about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
. The firm ranks amongst the top 20 law firms in the United Kingdom.
Pinsent Masons LLP has over 300 partners, a total legal team of around 1000 and more than 1,500 staff. Pinsent Masons has offices in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
; and within England, in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(the headquarters) and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Pinsent Masons LLP offers services in the areas of major projects, energy and utilities, construction, dispute resolution (including arbitration and litigation), outsourcing
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
and technology, corporate finance
Corporate finance
Corporate finance is the area of finance dealing with monetary decisions that business enterprises make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions. The primary goal of corporate finance is to maximize shareholder value while managing the firm's financial risks...
, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
, insurance, employment and pensions, property and tax.
History
Pinsent Masons is the result of a number of mergers, the principal merger taking place in December 2004 between Pinsents and Masonshttp://www.mpmagazine.com/xq/asp/txtSearch.marketing+business+development/exactphrase.0/sid.0/articleid.94CBE594-9FC5-4881-8AB6-939D0EF5BDA6/qx/display.htm. Masons was recognised as one of the leading firms in the construction and IT outsourcing markets in the UK, with Pinsents having a more broadly based corporate practice. The rationale behind the merger being that the merged firm could sell its corporate services to Masons construction and IT clients.Pinsents itself was the result of the merger of Pinsent & Co, a Birmingham based law firm, and Simpson Curtis, a Leeds based law firm in 1995 with the merged firm trading under the name Pinsent Curtis http://www.totallylegal.com/content/home/career_centre/looking_for_opportunities/birmingham/firms/pinsents. In 2001, Pinsent Curtis merged with Biddle & Co, to form Pinsent Curtis Biddle.http://www.lawcareers.net/Information/News/Detail.aspx?r=598.In 2002, the Birmingham office of Garretts was incorporated into the firm. Pinsent Curtis Biddle subsequently was renamed Pinsents in 2003. On 1 March 2008 the firm went from a traditional partnership to that of an LLP.
International alliances
In addition to the operation of a number of its own offices outside the UK, Pinsent Masons and its predecessor firms have been involved in a number of international alliances. Pinsent Curtis announced an alliance with Swedish firm, Magnusson Wahlin, in December 2000 http://www.practicallaw.com/7-101-3531. In May 2003, Masons formed an alliance with US firm Thelen Reid to create Masons Thelen LLP, a practice concentrating on construction, engineering and infrastructure law http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2004/05/10/newscolumn5.html. The alliance with Magnusson Wahlin is no longer in operation and Thelen Reid subsequently merged with Brown Raysman & Steiner to create Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner, with Masons Thelen LLP being dissolved shortly thereafter http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/1162193/pinsents-us-ally-pull-plug-projects-jv. In October 2008, Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner, by then called Thelen LLP, was dissolved. In January 2007, Pinsent Masons was one of the principal firms behind the formation of PMLG (Pinsent Masons Luther Group), a group of independent law firms bringing together 1,300 lawyers in 33 offices across the globe. However, in June 2009, Pinsent Masons announced it was pulling out of PMLG and forming a non-exclusive referral alliance with SalansSalans
Salans is an international, full-service law firm operating from 22 offices across 17 countries.-Profile:With 22 offices located in the world’s main commercial centres and emerging markets, Salans’ lawyers advise on complex transactions using a combination of local and international expertise...
http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/1184541/pinsents-splits-international-network-forge-alliance-salans. The strategy behind the Salans alliance being an attempt to leverage Salans presence across Eastern Europe in particular, with Salans benefiting from Pinsent Masons' large UK presence and growing presence in the Gulf and Asia http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/analysis/1255583/commentary-pinsents-salans-succeed.