Pinsent Masons is to launch its flexible lawyering service Vario in Australia, in what will mark its first move outside the UK.

The service, which launched in 2012, now has 300 freelance lawyers on its books and, according to the firm, increased its revenue by 40% last year.

Pinsents opened in Australia in 2015, with offices in Sydney and Melbourne. It now has eight partners and 20 lawyers in the country.

Vario director Matthew Kay said: "We are now embarking on an ambitious plan to scale internationally and bring the best of the flexible model to a number of international hubs. We are actively recruiting in Australia and are keen to hear from senior practitioners with experience of recruitment to help us establish and grow our business."

The firm's Australia head, David Rennick, said: "We recognise that we are a challenger brand in Australia and a key part of our strategy is to bring the best of the disruptive innovation from legal markets around the world to Australia."

The move follows that of DLA Piper, which launched its flexible lawyering service in Australia last year. DLA's service is a collaboration with Berwin Leighton Paisner's flexible lawyer spin-off LOD, which itself merged with Asia-Pacific counterpart AdventBalance last year.

Allen & Overy also expanded its flexible lawyering service Peerpoint to Australia last year, having opened in Hong Kong in 2015.