RPC is targeting the German banking sector via an association with corporate finance and advisory company Giltspur.

The new operation, which will be called Giltspur RPC Financial, aims to "help German banks pursue litigation against other global banks and hedge funds", with Giltspur providing litigation funding for the claims.

RPC commercial litigator Simon Hart played a key role in setting up the new offering, which will also work with German consulting business Excellory.

It will provide services including contract review, regulatory capital relief and advice on dispute resolution and risk mitigation strategies.

Although Giltspur's offices are located in London and Hong Kong, one of its partners is based in Germany. He will work closely with the founder of Excellory, Andreas Mueller, who is based in Frankfurt, on the consultancy side.

RPC itself has no plans to open an office in Germany as part of the deal. As it will be advising the banks on English law, the firm will provide support out of London.

Hart commented: "This is very much a consultancy non-legal play with English law support. It is well known that the German banking sector has been dealing with some fundamental structural issues over the past few years driven by a range of factors, including the low interest rate environment, European risk and regulatory pressure."

Giltspur RPC Financial is the fourth consultancy business RPC has recently backed. In March, the firm set up a new in-house consultancy business based in London. The new venture, dubbed Centre for Legal Leadership, provides coaching, mentoring and career support services that in-house lawyers may not otherwise be receiving from their employers.

The other two include RPC Consulting, which targets core insurance sector clients, and RPC Perform, which was launched in May 2016 to provide management advice to GCs, but has now closed down following the exit of director Julia Chain.