The  firm, which is following in the footsteps of Berwin Leighton Paisner’s Lawyers On Demand and recruiters Axiom,  confirmed the search for lawyers to join the scheme has already begun.
In a statement yesterday, the firm said that the new ‘Vario’ service will be a hub for freelance legal professionals to undertake a wide variety of assignments from fixed-term projects to maternity cover.

High demand

Clients of  Vario will be able to ‘quickly access lawyers from paralegal to partner-level, enabling them to scale-up or down resource in line with demand’.
David Ryan, managing partner of Pinsent Masons, commented: ‘The legal market is changing and we are committed to changing with it. We know that our clients often face periods of high demand and value the ability to ramp-up resource for a specific purpose, often at short notice and for a defined period of time.
‘By launching Vario we aim to marry client demand for lawyers who meet Pinsent Masons' high professional standards with the aspirations of lawyers for a stimulating but more flexible career.’

Next generation

Alison Bond, the partner who will lead Vario, added: ‘Clients are increasingly asking for access to flexible resources as a pre-requisite. However, we wanted to take the idea a step further and launch the next generation of this type of service.’