International law firm Pinsent Masons has announced that it is to launch a presence in Brussels ahead of the UK referendum on EU membership.
The office opening represents the latest phase of development for Pinsent Masons' specialist EU and Competition team, which has grown significantly in recent years including through the appointment of partners Michael Reich and Ben Lasserson to its Munich and London offices respectively last year.
The firm's presence at the centre of EU policy and decision-making will enable lawyers from across Pinsent Masons' pan-European practice to more-closely monitor developments in relation to the constitutional future of the European Union, and offer clients the latest perspectives on the issues likely to affect them.
No partners or staff will be based there permanently and the firm has deferred taking a decision on whether to make its presence in Brussels permanent pending further development of the debate around the UK's relationship with Europe
Richard Foley, Senior Partner at Pinsent Masons, says:
"We are facing a crucial period in the EU's history and we see a significant role for Pinsent Masons in helping our clients understand and respond to change, whatever form that may take. Our strategy is to be an international leader in the global sectors in which we operate, and we therefore consider a flexible presence in Brussels to be the right move for us at this point."
Ben Lasserson, a Partner in the EU and Competition practice at Pinsent Masons, says:
"Our EU and Competition practice has gone from strength-to-strength, picking up significant mandates on the investigations, merger control, public procurement and State aid fronts. The representative office extends our reach into the heart of the EU, helping to ensure we are better connected into the wider debate around its future, and what impact the referendum on Brexit may have not just on the UK but the European continent as a whole."
