page_title: Pinsent Masons
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Pinsent Masons / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Pinsent Masons, Park Row (seen from City Square), Leeds, West Yorkshire. Taken on the evening of Tuesday the 12th March 2019.
context_page_description: Pinsent Masons LLP is an international law firm which specialises in the energy, infrastructure, financial services, real estate and advanced manufacturing and technology sectors. The firm ranks among the top hundred law firms in the world by turnover.
  Pinsent Masons LLP has over 400 partners, a total legal team of around 1,800 people and more than 2,500 staff. More than 500 of the firm's staff are based in its international headquarters in the City of London. It has more PLC clients than any law firm except one.
  Pinsent Masons was named 'Law Firm of the Year' in 2016 by respected industry magazine Legal Business and 'Law Firm of the Year' 2016 at the Legal Week British Legal Awards. In 2015 it was named 'The Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe' by the Financial Times.
  The firm has 25 offices across Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. In 2017, Pinsent Masons entered into an association with Saudi-based law firm AlSabhan & Alajaji.
context_section_description: Pinsent Masons has roots dating back to 1769. The modern day firm is the product of a series of mergers between firms including Pinsent & Co, Masons, Simpson Curtis, Biddle & Co, L'Estrange & Brett and McGrigors. Alumni of the legacy firms include former British Chancellor Alistair Darling.
  The firm's recent history has been dominated by a process of internationalisation. Over the past decade it has developed a presence in key major cities around the world: Beijing (2007), Singapore (2009), Paris (2012), Munich (2012), Brussels (2015), Sydney (2015), Melbourne (2015), Düsseldorf (2016), Johannesburg (2016), Madrid (2017), Dublin (2017), Perth (2017) and Frankfurt (2019).
  The firm's board is led by Senior Partner Richard Foley and Managing Partner John Cleland. In 2016 the firm announced the appointment of former Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander as a strategic adviser, and appointed its first external board member in the form of former banker Pauline Egan.
caption: Pinsent Masons offices on Park Row, Leeds.
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