Baker & McKenzie to open back-office operations center in Belfast
Belfast, Northern Ireland. Serg Zastavkin / Shutterstock.com
Baker & McKenzie has chosen Belfast as the location for a second back-office operations center.
The law firm expects the new office to employ about 120 professionals by the end of its first year of operation, rising to between 200 and 250 employees at the end of three years, according to a press release. The Am Law Daily, the Lawyer and the Belfast Telegraph have stories.
The law firm has operated a Manila-based back-office operations center in the Philippines since 2000, employing 600 staffers. The Belfast office will work on due diligence and deal closings, and provide support for information technology, human resources and payroll, according to the Am Law Daily.
Executive committee chair Eduardo Leite told the Lawyer that the Belfast center will have more lawyers, paralegals and senior project managers than in Manila.
According to the press release, “The new office will undertake legal work and provide business services support. It will facilitate round the clock services across time zones and reduce dependency on a single location. Initially around two-thirds of the professionals will be in business services support and one-third legal staff.”
InvestNI, which backs development in Northern Island, is giving Baker & McKenzie $2.1 million for the office setup. Allen and Overy, Axiom Global Limited and Herbert Smith Freehills have also opened support offices in Belfast, the stories say.
