MINTER ELLISON FLEXES NEW MUSCLE

MINTER Ellison has responded to an increasing market demand for flexible in-house contract work by launching Minter Ellison Flex this month.

Flex is a new business that aims to give clients direct access to a pool of contract lawyers from a range of backgrounds and varying levels of experience.

Partner and head of innovation Andrew Cunningham (pictured) says the new handpicked workforce exists for the single purpose of tackling contract assignments, with teams in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney already established.

"Clients and market feedback tell us that there is increasingly a need for high quality lawyers to work temporarily in-house, but they need to be of the highest quality and able to hit the ground running," says Cunningham.

"The lawyers we place with clients through Flex are connected to and integrated with Minter Ellison's elite capability and knowhow, and this gives clients the confidence to embrace agile staffing."

Minter Ellison has been testing the waters of Flex for the past six months as part of its innovation program, an offshoot of the firm's main practice which company leaders say has been essential to success in the market.

"There is a lot of disruption in the legal market," says Cunningham.

"The challenge is to not just embrace new agile models for solving legal problems but to make these sustainable solutions that maintain the high levels of quality that clients expect.

"Flex is part of a broader agenda to innovate in the services we offer, how we execute those services, and how we price them."

Flex is also primed to engage the number of lawyers nationally who are searching for more convenient work options.

"Flex has attracted a new pool of talented lawyers at all levels who enjoy the flexibility and variety of work you get on temporary engagements," says Cunningham.

All Flex lawyers are selected through the same recruitment process as the regular Minter Ellison workforce.

Contract assignments for the team regularly cover situations such as periods of extended leave, the need to rapidly add capacity and temporary requirements for special projects.