Minter Ellison Rudd Watts will handle employment, sports, corporate due diligence and energy work for UK firms.

Minter Ellison’s New Zealand arm says the partnership’s familiarity with the UK legal system, with “half” its partnership having worked in the magic circle, is attractive to UK firms.

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts managing partner Mark Weenink said the firm’s decision to offer the new product line was a reflection of a changing market for legal services.

“A single economic market with Australia is on the horizon,” he told UK legal magazine The Lawyer.

“Offering outsourcing is a sensible way of utilizing resources. We see a competitive advantage in doing lower-cost work. I don’t see it diluting our brand.”