Some of the largest clients at the 1,500-person Simmons & Simmons came to the firm in the 2000s as new hedge funds and other financial businesses were created or spun out of existing businesses. Simmons says in its LaunchPlus pages: 'We are the original hedge fund firm, having advised the majority of the largest and best known European hedge fund businesses at their inception.'

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The tool has been developed over the last 18 months, pushed forward by London-based investment funds partner Devarshi Saksena. It it divided into four parts (the first of which is free to use) - get started, launch, operate and grow. Mr Saksena - whose clients include BlueCrest, Henderson Global and Jabre -  said: 'We have a strong commitment to the start-up market, no other law firm has anything vaguely similar and it's an exciting development. The service will evolve and expand based on client feedback and changes to the regulatory requirements.' Sources: Simmons and Legal Business