Eversheds is set to expand its contract lawyer business Agile outside of the UK, with the firm highlighting Germany and the Middle East as the most lucrative markets.

As part of the international push, Eversheds will permanently base staff from Eversheds Consulting – the arm of the firm which houses Agile – in the Middle East.

Graham Richardson, the Eversheds partner with responsibility for Agile, pointed to "massive growth potential" in the Middle East, where the firm can take advantage of the high proportion of UK-qualified lawyers in the region.

He added: "When we've talked about where we can go, Germany is definitely a place for us to look at, particularly seeing as the firm has a strong presence there."

Earlier this month, Eversheds London banking head David Boyd transferred to Agile, signalling a drive by the firm to pick up more work with financial intuitions.

"Our work is client lead and many of our clients are global, so we have done consulting work and placed some Agile candidates internationally," said Boyd. "However, rolling this out more formally in other key geographies will represent a step change, albeit a natural evolution."

Agile now has more than 50 lawyers working on a contract basis, with over half of these placed with financial institutions. According to Richardson, Eversheds Consulting is currently in the middle of three major bank projects.

"When legal teams within banks are told they can't recruit or replace anyone but their responsibilities have increased, how do they deal with that?" he said Richardson. "Yes we cover for maternity leave and work surges, but it's now actually a strategic thing for big banks and other global businesses.

"We are making more proactive moves now…If we have a really good litigator, say, we look to a bank that would sign them up."

Agile was made a permanent fixture at Eversheds two years ago. It's pool of contract lawyers, who range from junior lawyers up to those with partner level experience, has grown from around 80 in 2012 to some 200 today.

Does your firm support mobile working? Complete this Legal Week survey for a chance to win an iPad Air: click here.