King & Spalding (K&S) has entered into an alliance with 15 global law firms to refer work across a range of practice areas, including employee benefits, executive compensation, tax, employment and labour law.

The network – known as Bectella – was set up by the chair of K&S' employee benefits and executive compensation practice Kenneth Raskin. It covers 20 countries in five continents.

Firms will refer work to one another and market their local expertise to a broader global client base.

"Participating firms have established reputations in the global legal community for their work in these practice areas," said Raskin. "Using Bectella's global network, lawyers at participating firms coordinate to effectively and efficiently resolve cross-border issues."

K&S' London and Atlanta offices are listed as the network's contact points for UK and US matters, while Bectella will provide advice in the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Poland and Taiwan.

Other participating firms include Ireland's Arthur Cox, Afridi & Angell in Dubai, PRK Partners in the Czech Republic, and Karanovic & Nikolic, which covers five former Yugoslavian countries.

None of the network firms have offices in the same jurisdictions as K&S, with two exceptions.

Arthur Cox has a two-partner London office, which focuses solely on corporate matters. K&S also has a Dubai office but it does not have lawyers working in any of the practice areas supported by the network.