Pinsent Masons has signed an outsourcing deal which will see the top 20 UK firm send litigation work to South Africa.

The major regional player has launched a litigation support service in co-operation with global legal processing outsourcing provider Exigent, with the work to be undertaken by qualified lawyers in Exigent's outsourcing centre in Cape Town.

Pinsents has outsourced document processing to Exigent for a number of years, but will now also see the company provide a data review and e-disclosure capability for its 360-lawyer litigation practice.

Pinsents head of dispute resolution and litigation Nigel Kissack said the driver behind the agreement is to be able to increase the value for clients.

He commented: "We have built a strong relationship with Exigent over the past few years, perfecting a flexible document processing service for our firm. We are now building upon this foundation in developing our data review service.

"This is a genuine partnership between our two businesses, which will deliver high-quality service which, most importantly, will represent a cost-effective option for our clients."

Outsourcing work to South Africa has become increasingly popular among UK law firms during the last few years. Top ten City firm Lovells also outsources document production to Exigent, while Eversheds outsources work to its South African Eversheds International member firm Routledge Modise.