Several City firms set to open offices in mainland Europe

updated on 15 February 2021

Several City firms are set to expand their offerings and strengthen existing teams by opening offices in Europe.

The news comes after the UK officially left the EU at midnight on 31 December 2020.

Pinsent Masons announced plans to set up an office in Amsterdam, which will become the firm’s first base in the Netherlands. It will focus on cyber, data, technology and life sciences, according to the Law Gazette. US-headquartered firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is due to open an office in Brussels in Summer 2021, which will focus on European regulatory and legal issues; while Addleshaw Goddard has already opened an office in France – its first in the country.

The firm poached 18 lawyers from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, who are set to join forces with four real estate lawyers from K&L Gates. The establishment of Addleshaw Goddard’s French outpost follows the opening of its first office in Hamburg in June 2019. The Parisian office will offer a full corporate, commercial, real estate and disputes practice.