Pinsent Masons has strengthened its international footprint with the opening of a new office in Poland and the launch of an international service centre in South Africa.
The firm’s new Polish office will reinforce its pan-European offering and mark its entry into Central and Eastern Europe. Based in Warsaw, the office will be led by founding partners Bartek Kordeczka and Jakub Marcinkowski, alongside a team of six partners with top-tier experience across real estate, commercial and M&A, banking and finance, and construction. The firm plans to expand into additional practice areas over time.
Andrew Masraf, senior partner at Pinsent Masons, said the expansion reflects the firm’s strategic focus on Europe: “Further expanding our capabilities in Europe to meet the evolving needs of our clients remains a strategic objective for us. Poland, as one of the continent’s most resilient and dynamic economies, is a key market for several of our clients and an important investment destination in Central and Eastern Europe. We are launching the office with an exceptional and highly regarded team whose collaborative and innovative mindset underpins our ability to deliver a truly differentiated service”.
Bartek Kordeczka highlighted Warsaw’s growing regional role: “The Polish market presents a strong opportunity for international firms, with Warsaw increasingly recognised as a legal and commercial hub for the CEE region. Pinsent Masons already has a well-established European network, and this expansion adds a new dimension to supporting clients’ cross-border needs. Our founding team shares the ambition and determination to position Pinsent Masons as a market leader in Poland and across CEE”.
Jakub Marcinkowski added that Warsaw plays a strategic role in cross-border work: “Warsaw serves as an important base for managing English law transactions across the CEE region, with significant demand for M&A, banking and real estate services. Our combined experience places us in a strong position to integrate into Pinsent Masons’ international network and respond effectively to both local and global client needs”.
The Warsaw office will become Pinsent Masons’ ninth office in continental Europe, joining its operations in Spain, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
South Africa service centre
In parallel, Pinsent Masons has established an international service centre in Cape Town, South Africa, which is now operational. The centre will expand and enhance services currently delivered primarily through Pinsent Masons Vario, the firm’s alternative legal services platform (ALSP), helping the firm remain competitive in an increasingly dynamic global market.
The Cape Town centre will provide a growing range of services to international clients, including administrative support, paralegal and corporate secretarial services, legal project management, technology support and legal consulting, enabling sophisticated and high-quality case management.
Matthew Kay, director of Pinsent Masons Vario and lead on the project, said: “Whether by harnessing the potential of AI or deploying our diverse legal skill sets, we continue to transform how we deliver our services. Our new legal service delivery centre in Cape Town allows us to apply highly skilled resources in a way that meets the demands of a competitive international legal market”.
The service centre will primarily handle client matters while also supporting internal firm functions. It will operate as a separate entity from Pinsent Masons’ Johannesburg office and will not advise on South African law or local matters. The Johannesburg office remains the firm’s only office providing legal services to clients in South Africa.
