Eversheds Sutherland L-R: Mark Wasserman and Lee Ranson, Eversheds Sutherland. Photo: John Disney/ALM

Eversheds Sutherland is creating its own global alternative legal service provider, joining a trend among large firms with an international presence.

The firm announced Wednesday that it plans to launch a new entity to house its advisory, interim resourcing and managed service offerings, called Konexo, using existing teams in Europe and Asia. ES Agile, the firm's flexible lawyering entity, has also been folded into the new business.

According to Eversheds Sutherland, the advisory, interim resourcing and managed service segment already accounts for £40 million, or about $50.77 million, of annual revenue. It encompasses three teams, known as ES Consulting, Corporate Secretarial and Volume Insolvency, which together saw business grow by 38% last year, according to the firm.

The goal is to continue growing that number, the firm said, to at least £100 million, or nearly $127 million, in annual revenue. Eversheds Sutherland's global revenue for 2018, reported in February, was $1.175 billion (£900m).

“This is in response to what we're seeing as a clear client demand,” Eversheds Sutherland co-CEO Lee Ranson said in an interview Wednesday. There was “a constant theme” in conversations with clients around using technology and moving away from the traditional legal model for “repeatable-type” legal work, he said.

The law firm was already doing that in several areas, he said, but under Konexo's structure “It's making sure those services that have been developed in specific spheres now come together in a package of services we can offer to clients.”

Partner Graham Richardson has been tapped as head of the new entity, which is expected to expand its operations to the U.S. later this year.

“I am proud to be leading Konexo, and to be able to bring together three long-established teams to build a unique, market leading business,” Richardson said in a statement. “Intelligent analytics, automation technology and innovative operational processes are at the heart of what we do and this will play a critical role in driving Konexo's future success.”

The U.S. operations will be based within Eversheds Sutherland's existing U.S. spaces, Ranson said. Some services Konexo includes are already offered to corporate clients in the U.S., he noted, but it has yet to be formalized. Once the U.S. operations are established, he said, that “Puts us in the place as one of the only ALSPs that are global.”

Konexo will continue as a division of Eversheds Sutherland, the firm said, with plans to create a new corporate structure. That will allow Konexo to access external funding and flexibility to pursue joint ventures and acquisitions, the firm's announcement said.

In a statement, Eversheds Sutherland co-CEO Mark Wasserman said Konexo is intended to be present in the U.S. by the end of this year. “This is an excellent step forward and will be welcomed by the U.S. market,” he said.

Several other international firms have launched their own entities in recent years to compete with ALSPs. Ranson said moves by competitors, both law firms and other legal industry entrants, had an impact on the firm's decision to organize Konexo the way it did.

“Within that market we're already a large body, a player. But we didn't want to leave it too long without making that brand separation from Eversheds Sutherland,” Ranson said.

Just this month, Greenberg Traurig launched a subsidiary called Recurve, which plans to partner with artificial intelligence providers, staffing firms and others to guide clients toward solutions for their needs beyond traditional legal services.

Pinsent Masons launched a flexible lawyering arm called Vario, which expanded to Hong Kong earlier this year, and brought on on Axiom's former Asia head to lead its Asia presence. Herbert Smith Freehills has a technology solutions and e-discovery business called Alt Legal Services Center, which also expanded this year.

Last year, the flexible lawyering service called Lawyers on Demand, which British firm Berwin Leighton Paisner spun off in 2012, was bought by a private equity firm after Berwin Leighton merged with Bryan Cave.