Balfour Beatty, the global infrastructure group, has agreed a ground breaking deal which will see all of its 'business as usual' legal work in the UK carried out by international law firm Pinsent Masons.
Under the terms of its new panel arrangements Balfour Beatty has split its external legal spend into two areas: 'business as usual' retained work, which is predictable and recurrent, and other legal services such as complex litigation and M&A.
With immediate effect, all new business as usual work will be carried out exclusively by Pinsent Masons, while a limited panel of law firms - of which Pinsent Masons is one - will act on complex and business critical legal work.
Chris Vaughan, Chief Corporate Officer at Balfour Beatty said “After several months of analysis and discussion, I am pleased we have reached this innovative partnership with Pinsent Masons. This move aligns with our strategic business intents and will bring benefit to both parties over the coming years. For Balfour Beatty, in addition to the substantial cost savings and closer strategic relationship with Pinsent Masons, the management information we receive will enable us to proactively manage legal risk across our UK business.”
Alastair Morrison, Head of Client Strategy at Pinsent Masons, says:
"Pinsent Masons has historically done a mixture of both retained and business-critical work for Balfour Beatty and a key component of this deal is that our client is effectively incentivised to use us on complex and critical work internationally. Balfour Beatty has a commitment to innovation in legal services which mirrors our own. We share a clear focus on working in genuine partnership to deliver operational efficiency without compromising a high-quality service, and believe that by working in close collaboration our organisations will be exceptionally well-placed to deliver significant benefits for all stakeholders. Businesses of all shapes and sizes are having to respond to the new normal and we genuinely believe we are breaking new ground by offering a service which is not fundamentally based on the hourly rate."
Balfour Beatty has been a client of Pinsent Masons for over 35 years across a wide range of practice areas.
Media enquiries:
Maitland
Tel. +44 (0)20 7379 5151
BalfourBeatty-maitland@maitland.co.uk
Notes to editors:
1. Balfour Beatty (www.balfourbeatty.com) is a global infrastructure group that delivers world class services essential to the development, creation and care of infrastructure assets; from finance and development, through design and project management to construction and maintenance.
Our businesses draw on more than 100 years of experience to deliver the highest levels of quality, safety and technical expertise to our clients principally in the UK, the US, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. We continue to develop our business in key growth markets in South Africa, Australia, Canada, Brazil and India.
With proven expertise in delivering infrastructure critical to support communities and society today and in the future, our key market sectors include transportation (roads, rail and aviation), power and energy, mining, water and social infrastructure such as hospitals and schools.
Balfour Beatty employs 50,000 people around the world.
2. Pinsent Masons employs over 2,500 people in total including over 1,500 lawyers, 500 of whom are based in Pinsent Masons' international headquarters in the City of London.
The firm has market-leading UK coverage, with a significant presence in each of the UK's three legal jurisdictions. Its international profile encompasses four offices in Asia Pacific, two offices in the Gulf and two offices in Europe. The firm also intends to launch a presence in Turkey in 2013. For more information visitwww.pinsentmasons.com
- Pinsent Masons LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England & Wales (registered number: OC333653) authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and by the appropriate regulatory body in the other jurisdictions in which it operates. The word ‘partner’, used in relation to the LLP, refers to a member of the LLP or an employee or consultant of the LLP or any affiliated firm who is a lawyer with equivalent standing and qualifications. A list of the members of the LLP, and of those non-members who are designated as partners, is displayed at the LLP’s registered office: 30 Crown Place, London EC2A 4ES, United Kingdom.
- We use ‘Pinsent Masons’ to refer to Pinsent Masons LLP and affiliated entities that practise under the name ‘Pinsent Masons’ or a name that incorporates those words. Reference to ‘Pinsent Masons’ is to Pinsent Masons LLP and/or one or more of those affiliated entities as the context requires. © Pinsent Masons LLP 2013.
- Pinsent Masons office network includes the major international business and financial centres of London, Munich, Paris, Doha, Dubai, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore and the key business centres in the UK.
