DLA Piper has launched a low cost services centre in Warsaw, its third such centre alongside one in the US and one in Leeds.

The firm is also planning an Asia launch, to give its lawyers access to 24/7 support wherever they are in the world.

It opened a services centre in Tampa, Florida in 2014 and has a dedicated IT support centre in Leeds.

DLA opened its support centre in the Polish capital on November 1 and is currently transferring some administrative, finance, marketing HR and IT processes there from Germany. It is also moving some HR administrative processes to Warsaw from the Netherlands.

The firm confirmed that it is looking to set up a fourth low cost service centre in Asia, which would allow its staff uninterrupted access to support services from anywhere on the globe.

DLA's chief operating officer Andrew Darwin said: "We are constantly looking at ways in which we can make the firm's operations more efficient and effective, and piloting Warsaw for inclusion in our global shared services capability is part of that."

He described Warsaw as offering "an attractive combination of quality and value".

A number of other firms have also launched low cost services centres in recent years.

Earlier this week Legal Week reported that White & Case is looking to open a back office support centre in Europe, to complement its existing centres in Tampa and the Philippines.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is planning to move back office and legal roles to Manchester by 2018 to take advantage of cheaper rents.