A virtual law firm in the U.K. has a new offering: setting up and staffing real world offices in the U.K. for stateside firms.

That is the idea behind Excello Libertas, which this week announced it had provided the back office and recruiting functions in the U.K. for national plaintiffs firm Sanders Phillips Grossman. SPG Law, as the U.K.-branch of the latter is called, now has some 40 lawyers who are pursuing claims regarding the vehicle emissions scandal at German auto giant Volkswagen AG, said George Bisnought, managing director of Excello Libertas.

Bisnought previously launched Excello Law in 2009 as a U.K. version of a virtual law firm in the mold of FisherBroyles or Rimon Law, the latter of which has forged a partnership with Excello Law. The firm allows lawyers to work virtually and take home a bigger cut of their billable hours than traditional law firms thanks to its low overhead.

Bisnought's idea with Excello Libertas is to spread that lower overhead model to lawyers who would prefer to work in their own law firm rather than join the Excello Law network. Excello Libertas can provide human resources, information technology, paralegal and real estate functions for law firms.

George Bisnought

“It is a more cost-effective way of running a law firm,” Bisnought said. “From a cost perspective, we are able to provide services that are below what you would find in the marketplace.”

With regard to SPG Law, the firm itself is a brand name that operates under the Excello Libertas platform, which is regulated as a law firm by the U.K.'s Solicitors Regulation Authority. Bisnought said that was crucial for SPG Law's ability to launch in the U.K. because there is a deadline to sign up clients for the litigation against Volkswagen.

Bisnought said 10 to 15 employees from Excello Libertas are helping to run the SPG Law operation, which has grown to about 40 lawyers since it launched last month in Liverpool. Bisnought said his firm had helped SPG Law recruit some of those lawyers. (Liverpool's mayor also hailed the SPG Law deal as a victory in the city's effort to become a global professional services hub.)

The Excello Libertas model is aimed at midsize firms or for offices of global law firms that are looking for a less-expensive international operation, as well as for those keen on not spending the time to manage the affairs of a local firm directly.

The model put forth by Excello Libertas with SPG Law—whose parent Sanders Phillips Grossman established a strategic partnership earlier this year with U.S. plaintiffs giant Milberg—started this past spring. Bisnought said his firm is now in discussions with four other outfits about launching an office in the U.K.

“This provides a smooth platform for law firms that want to operate in London with a very easy way of doing so,” Bisnought said. “We see the opportunities as pretty significant. The SPG example proves that. We were able to get them up and running within a matter of weeks.”