Bird & Bird is set to open its second office in the Netherlands in January 2018, but will make no additional hires to run it.
The firm does not expect partners to be based in the office, but instead use it as a resource to meet clients and work on specific projects.
The office space, which is understood to have capacity to house 10 to 20 people, will not have any permanent employees, the firm said.
“Our Amsterdam base will open up a range of prospects, with particularly strong opportunities for our corporate/M&A, media, international HR services, automotive and tax groups,” a statement from the firm said.
“It will also place us in closer proximity to clients in the fintech, energy, retail and tech & comms sectors.”
Netherlands managing partner Marcus Huisman said: “We see our ‘office of the future’ as a meeting place where the cooperation between clients and our lawyers goes far beyond the current way of working.
“Working together with our clients on matters, sharing knowledge, improving and developing our products and services with them, driven by their needs – that’s how we see the future. In addition, the Zuidas area is close to Schiphol Airport and therefore very convenient for our international clients and for our colleagues from our offices across Europe and Asia-Pacific – as well as our US base which is set to launch next year.”
The firm declined to comment on the cost of the new office.
