Pinsent Masons

History

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 Andrew Masraf and Managing Partner Laura Cameron. In 2025, the firm appointed former CMA Chair Markus Bokkerink and Pippa Wicks of AlixPartners to its refreshed board.

Strategy

The firm professes to specialise in only five global sectors: financial services, technology, science & industry, energy, real estate and infrastructure.

Innovation

Pinsent Masons has won awards for innovation. In 2013 it was in the vanguard of firms to launch a contract lawyer service, called Vario. It also secured mandates to act as 'sole adviser' to corporates including Balfour Beatty and E.ON. In 2015 the firm acquired the majority stake in Cerico, an online compliance business.

Diversity

Pinsent Masons has ranked in the top ten organisations for Working Families for 7 consecutive years. Pinsent Masons has received recognition for it’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. It was ranked 33 in the Social Mobility Employer Index 2024 and is also featured on the Social Mobility List 2024.The firm was recognised as one of the top global employers by Stonewall in 2023. Pinsent Masons was also ranked in the top 5% of law firms for its responsible business activities in the annual Lamp House report.

References

References

1. "Pinsent Masons {{!".
2. link
3. (2024-11-04). "Global 100 2024: Main table".
4. Business, Legal. "Global 100 2017{{Snd}} Main Table".
5. (2023-01-19). "People".
6. "Law firms top rankings{{Snd}} Adviser Rankings Limited".
7. (2023-09-22). "Europe Innovative Lawyers Awards 2023: the winners". Financial Times.
8. (2023-05-05). "Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers Awards 2023: the winners". Financial Times.
9. Business, Legal. "2016 Winners {{!}} www.legalbusiness.co.uk".
10. (2018-06-27). "The Lawyer Awards: Pinsents triumphs as firm of the year 2018".
11. "British Legal Awards Law Firm of the Year: Pinsent Masons".
12. SenGupta, Reena. (2023-09-22). "Generative AI: a legal revolution is coming — eventually". Financial Times.
13. "Pinsent Masons Launches Third Mainland China Office in Shenzhen, China".
14. "Pinsent Masons launches in Saudi Arabia".
15. (10 January 2004). "Nobody's Darling".
16. (2 August 2016). "Pinsent Masons to open first African office". African Law & Business.
17. Masraf, Andrew. "Andrew Masraf".
18. (2025-07-21). "Ex-CMA chair to join Pinsents' refreshed board".
19. "Richard Foley: leadership changes won't shift sector focus at Pinsent Masons".
20. "Solutions".
21. "Pinsent Masons to launch freelance lawyer service {{!".
22. "Balfour Beatty appoints Pinsent Masons as sole advisor on Retained Work".
23. Beioley, Kate. (3 October 2013). "Pinsent Masons beats 40 firms to win sole legal provider contract for Eon". [[The Lawyer]].
24. Manning, Jonathon. (18 September 2015). "Pinsent Masons' Richard Masters: Our tech product Cerico is taking on the world". [[The Lawyer]].
25. "The Top 30 Employers in 2024".
26. "Home".
27. "The Full List: Top Global Employers".
28. "Annual Report".