Mishcon de Reya enters alternative legal services market with acquisition
The firm has acquired flexible legal resourcing business Flex Legal, which was launched in 2016 in order to connect talent with the UK’s best legal teams.
City law firm Mishcon de Reya has announced its first strategic acquisition in the alternative legal services market.
The firm has acquired flexible legal resourcing business Flex Legal, which was launched in 2016 in order to connect talent with the UK’s best legal teams. Over the last six years, 6,000 lawyers and paralegals have joined the online platform.
Flex‘s also launched its Flex Trainee scheme in 2021, to further the company’s aim to make the legal industry more diverse, inclusive, and flexible for all. The scheme was created to support talented, aspiring lawyers from historically underrepresented backgrounds to qualify in-house through the new solicitors qualifying examination (SQE) route.
Mishcon de Reya stated this is “another major step” in executing its 10-year growth vision and strategy to build a world-class consultancy with law at its heart.
Last January, the firm completed its merger with Taylor Vinters, which saw more than 200 of the law firm’s staff join Mishcon’s 1,200-strong team, including 145 lawyers and 60 operational staff.
The firm also announced in November that it applied to open an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a joint venture company with the Ebrahim Al Habardi Law Office. The firm will be known as Mishcon de Reya Lawyers & Legal Consultants.
In a statement, Kevin Gold, executive chairman of Mishcon said: “The alternative legal services market is a high-growth part of the legal ecosystem. Investing in it and creating a broader range of legal and business services to clients has been a key part of our 10-year vision.”
“Flex Legal is a young dynamic business with a motivated and inspirational management team. We have been impressed by the quality of the business that Mary [Bonsor, co-founder of Flex] and the team have built,” he added.
