DAC Beachcroft has announced a collaboration with Cognia Law as it seeks to scale up its flexible working capacity through Cognia’s on-demand resourcing platform.

Cognia Flex will provide DAC with a curated talent pool and other related services to improve the firm’s ability to quickly adjust its resources based on the volume of matters it is currently working on. The two firms have been working on fine-tuning the collaboration over the past six months.

David Pollitt, DAC’s managing partner, said: “It is essential that we have the right resources in place at the right time to ensure continued success for our clients and our business. We have operated our own flexible working for some time, but our collaboration with Cognia will enable us to scale this up significantly to support our strategy of delivering bespoke solutions.”

The collaboration will also enable the firm to offer flexible career options for lawyers looking to return to work and current employees that want a less rigid career structure.

Janet Taylor-Hall, founder and CEO of Cognia Law, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with DAC Beachcroft. Cognia Flex is all about helping law firms—and by extension, their clients—respond to business cycles quickly and efficiently.”

She added: “This partnership means DAC Beachcroft will benefit from our streamlined approach and be well positioned to flex its resourcing, whether to ramp up a team on a large matter or deal, or to bring in niche expertise on discrete projects.”

As one firm expands its flexible resourcing capabilities, another is pulling back. Earlier this month, listed UK firm DWF said it was shutting its flexible resourcing unit DWF Resource as part of a range of cost-cutting measures to tackle the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Back in February, flexible resourcing business Lawyers on Demand launched its own UK challenger law firm, having already adopted a law firm model in Australia.

Also in February, US on-demand legal service Axiom acquired its domestic rival Bliss Lawyers, while in December Pinsent Masons’ UK-based legal resourcing arm Vario acquired Germany’s Xenion Legal as part of an expansion into mainland Europe.