Law firm Allen and Overy to create 100 new jobs in Belfast

Francess McDonnell in Belfast

Global leading law firm Allen and Overy is to create 100 new jobs in Belfast as part of its second major investment in the North in just three years.

The firm, which established a support services centre and legal services centre in Belfast in 2011, currently employs 380 people.

The Belfast office of Allen and Overy, one of the UK’s “magic circle” of top commercial law firms, provides a number of key functions including finance, IT, HR marketing and legal services to the firm’s global network which includes 44 offices, approximately 5,000 staff and 525 partners worldwide.

Jane Townsend, head of Allen & Overy's legal services centre, said it had chosen to reinvest because of its positive experiences to date.

Ms Townsend said: “The quality of work produced by the Belfast office has impressed the wider Allen & Overy network and contributed significantly to our strategy of making the business more flexible and responsive to the needs of our major clients.

“The way in which we deliver services to our clients continues to rapidly change. The legal services centre in Belfast has given us a real and tangible competitive advantage and we have won significant mandates as a result.”

She said the firm’s intention is to expand its local operation to “meet growing demand” and to help ensure it stays at the forefront of its market.

When Allen & Overy’s first decided to first locate an operation in the North, it stressed that “quality” not cost savings was its primary objective but it also revealed that it hoped to save £10 millions over a period of five years.

The North's enterprise minister Arlene Foster said the latest investment by the law firm will mean Belfast will become its second largest office by headcount once the new positions are filled.

The minister said: “The new jobs, which will pay above the private sector median, will contribute over £2.7million a year in salaries to the economy and offer excellent employment opportunities for our pool of legal graduates. The company is also investing heavily in world-class training, which will further strengthen the skills base of our important legal services sector.

“Today’s announcement reflects the very positive experience the company has enjoyed in terms of skills availability, cost competitiveness and the success of its Belfast-based support and legal services centre”

Invest Northern Ireland has offered a package of support worth more than £860,000 for the 100 jobs and associated training.

Meanwhile the US based media law firm SmithDehn, whose clients include HBO, Sasha Baron Cohen and Sony Pictures has recruited its first group of Ulster/Magee graduates for its new Derry offices.

The company says its intends to create more high value jobs and is recruiting not just in Northern Ireland but also from Donegal and throughout the Republic of Ireland.