Black Country law firm George Green has joined international legal network Ars Legis.
It is part of a strategy to increase the amount of work from foreign owned clients and to better service the needs of domestic ones active in foreign jurisdictions.
Headquartered in Germany, the network is represented in more than 40 cities in 18 countries, and has a particularly strong presence in Central and Eastern Europe.
Paul Bennett, corporate partner at George Green, who masterminded the new strategy and gaining membership of Ars Legis, believes that it will help the firm to continue to stand out as one of the region's leading commercial law firms.
He said: "Modern commerce is international and our clients increasingly demand us to be conversant with the laws wherever they are active.
"Furthermore, the number of our clients which are foreign owned is also expanding. It is absolutely vital that we are able to meet our clients' needs in a practical, efficient manner irrespective of where they do business and our membership of Ars Legis will enable us to better achieve that aim.
"While many international networks are dominated by large commercial firms, Ars Legis is made up of smaller firms with a commercial focus, which like George Green, also benefit from lower overheads and fee rates. I believe such access to overseas legal advice will prove attractive not just for our existing clients, but also for other businesses across the Midlands."
Mr Bennett will be working closely with Amanda Elwell on Ars Legis business.
A solicitor at George Green and a member of the Institute of Linguists and British-German Jurists Association, Ms Elwell is a fluent German speaker and a key member of the team developing the new initiative. She is on hand to ensure that linguistic as well as legal needs of clients within the network are met. Ars Legis is effectively doubling its membership in the UK.
Dr Pierre Preussler, chairman of Ars Legis, said: "George Green incorporates precisely those characteristics which make Ars Legis stand out - a dynamic, mediumsized law firm, firmly established in economic life at a local as well as a national level.
"By becoming a member of a world-wide network with other law firms of a similar type, George Green can address the increasing demands of an international clientele effectively."
