The centre will work alongside the firm’s Manchester hub, which currently houses around 300 paralegal and back office staff.

Headcount targets for Vancouver are not yet set in stone, but the firm aims to hire an initial 20 to 35 legal services assistants. Current Manchester boss Anup Kollanethu will also head up the new base.

Freshfields executive partner Michael Lacovara said the firm had been looking at locations in time zones that could provide ‘better coverage for our 24/7 service to clients.’ The firm is also looking to attract some of Vancouver’s Mandarin-speaking population to provide legal services including due diligence, e-discovery and standard forms drafting to its China offices. Source: The Lawyer