Cripps widens its international reach with new alliance
An international network of law and tax firms has just expanded into the UK.
Law firm Cripps, which has offices in Kent and London, has joined MarcAlliance as its England and Wales representative.
Established in December 2013, MarcAlliance has a strong presence in the European Union as well as members further afield in countries such as Thailand and Brazil. Its aim is to cover all mature legal jurisdictions in the world within five years.
"We have an increasing number of clients working in foreign jurisdictions. We already have good relations with many overseas law firms but we felt we needed a more formal arrangement," said Cripps managing partner Gavin Tyler.
"We have been looking to find the right international network to join - one that reflects our brand and commitment to providing a high quality service focused on the needs of the client. It is very important to us that we can refer our clients to the right advisers, whilst having the latitude to put the clients' needs first when it comes to selecting a preferred adviser in a foreign jurisdiction.
"I attended the inaugural MarcAlliance annual conference in Istanbul at the end of last year and immediately I was impressed by the quality of the group and its members. We have found a very good fit. We all have a similar presence in our home markets and are businesses where relations with clients are characterised by a strong personal touch.
"This step fulfills our objective to develop an improved international network of lawyers to whom our clients can be referred. It will also increase our inward investment work for both individuals and businesses."
Cripps will be MarcAlliance's sole member in England and Wales. Corporate Partner Olivier Morel, who is dual-qualified in France and the UK, has been elected to serve on its six-strong board alongside representatives from Spain, France, Portugal and Germany.
"We are a body of likeminded businesses with similar values," added Olivier. "Working together means we are all better able to project ourselves into overseas markets, confident our clients' interests are well looked after."