Michael Chissick

The firm has signed a lease with the building’s landlords, Robinson Family Ltd, for an additional 3,000 foot of office space on top of the existing 3,000 foot already occupied across two floors, creating capacity for the recruitment of another 38 legal professionals.

Fieldfisher opened the Legal Solutions Hub, which provides legal support for its 25 offices in the UK, Europe, China and California, in August 2018.

It has already grown the headcount substantially, from eight colleagues at the Hub’s launch to 40 today.

The expansion is intended to accommodate the planned growth of Hub’s team, which consists of legal professionals with a wide range of experience, as well specialist support services, serving the firm’s anti-money laundering, secretarial, IT and legal tech functions.

The firm has had a presence in Belfast since late 2017, when it merged with Holywood-based Donaldson Legal Consulting (DLC).

Managing partner Michael Chissick said: “We are delighted to be expanding our Belfast footprint as we continue to invest in our legal solutions offering, which has been enthusiastically adopted by our clients worldwide.

“Having recently celebrated the Belfast Legal Solutions Hub’s first birthday, Fieldfisher is proud to reinforce its commitment to the city, which also hosts our DLC business and forms an essential part of the firm’s integrated European and wider international offering.

“The Belfast Hub allows us to be one of the most competitive players in the global legal market and I look forward to meeting the new members of our Belfast team as we take advantage of the city’s rich talent pool to grow the Hub over the coming months and years.”

Office manager Lisa Algie added: “Thanks to the continued hard work and collective efforts of Fieldfisher’s Belfast Hub team, we are now in a position to take over additional office space within our existing building.

“The extra space will allow us to grow the team further, as we continue to expand our skillset and increase the level of support we provide to Fieldfisher business units across multiple offices.

“It’s really exciting to be involved in this expansion, little more than a year since opening the Hub. I am proud of what we have achieved and I look forward to the next phase of our growth in Belfast.”