Keystone Law is moving into the temp lawyer market with a new service that will offer partner-level support to the City arms of US law firms.

The new Law Firm Support service will enable firms to instruct Keystone's 120 lawyers to work on specific transactions and longer-term projects. 

This includes a guarantee from Keystone that no further instructions will be accepted by lawyers working for the client during the course of the temp assignment.

It will primarily be aimed at the London offices of US firms, which may be under-resourced in some practice areas. 

Keystone managing partner James Knight said: "When any firm instructs another, they need to be sure of two things. Firstly, that the work will be done properly and in accordance with the client's instructions, and secondly, that the client's loyalty will remain unaffected."

Keystone, which has to date recruited individual lawyers, is now aiming to attract teams of lawyers wanting more control over their own business. The firm, which operates with a core London team of around 20 support staff in addition to the lawyers on its books, allows its lawyers to work from home or their own offices and keep up to 75% of their billings on a 'paid as you earn' basis.

The new initiative would allow teams to break away from their existing firms and set up their own 'Keypods', while drawing on Keystone's support services.

Knight added: "This gives breakaway teams real freedom and autonomy, but within a fully supportive environment. Keypods can be up and running within a matter of days, with lawyers earning substantially more than previously and basically living the dream."