International law firm Fieldfisher has moved into Northern Ireland, creating 125 new jobs.
Based at its new offices in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, the roles will have average salaries of around £25,000. Around 10 jobs are already in place at the premises on Old Channel Road.
Last November, Fieldfisher announced its merger with Holywood firm Donaldson Legal Consulting.
The operation will be led by managing partner Alison Donaldson who said future expansion could involve additional office in the Titanic Quarter and Holywood. Invest NI is providing £630,000 as part of Fieldfisher’s move.
The European law firm is the latest in a line of major legal firms, such as US law firm Baker McKenzie, to expand into Northern Ireland. Invest NI said around 700 jobs have been created by such companies in the past five years, attracted by the large pool of legal graduates produced by the two universities.
Alastair Hamilton, chief executive of Invest NI, said: “Northern Ireland’s legal sector has gone from strength to strength and has attracted several of the UK’s Top 50 firms. This is one of the priority sectors for inward investment and we are delighted Fieldfisher has joined this growing sector.
“Over the next three years Fieldfisher will be building its team in Northern Ireland with 125 roles across a range of functions. With an average salary in the mid £20,000s this investment will generate over £3.6million in annual salaries.”
Michael Chissick, managing partner at Fieldfisher added: “We began exploring Northern Ireland as a base for this new office in early 2017, attracted by the stable supply of experienced and skilled people.
“Our new centre here will include senior positions in legal and risk management, as well as middle level technical and business support roles. We also have a number of roles suitable for graduates.
“The strong partnership between academia and industry was another attraction to investing here and ensures we will be able to work with colleges and universities to develop a future pipeline of qualified graduates.
“We have been through an incredible period of success and have been the fastest growing large UK law firm for the last two years. Northern Ireland is the next strategic stage in our continued growth and we are very excited to be able to provide a centre of excellence to support our offices around the world.”