From Roll on Friday 05/04/12:
Simmons & Simmons is joining the outsourcing race by opening an office in Bristol. The new outpost will be restricted to real estate, projects and dispute resolution work, and will initially have between 15 and 20 lawyers on the ground.
Outsourcing to Bristol. From London? Does that qualify as ‘outsourcing’? I know Bristol might seem to be a little off the beaten track to some (largely those who rarely step out of the capital for months at a time) but it’s really not a foreign country!!
According to reports, the firm will be sending a couple of partners and a bunch of senior associates to Bristol to launch the new practice. And the verdant countryside, cheaper cost of living and extra-strong cider will probably be enough to attract a few away from the City. However in the long term the development seems bad news for those doing low key real estate, projects or dispute resolution work and who want to remain in London.
Extra-strong cider? Oooh – that’s a cheap dig. I’m surprised they RoF didn’t run with the insult that Bristolians only drink ‘special brew’.
It's easy to see the attraction for the firm. For non-client facing work, there's not much need to house large numbers of lawyers in an expensive glass palace in the City of London, when they can just as easily do their jobs in Bristol which is already a strong centre for legal services.
Where law firms are housed in corrugated iron shacks, no doubt? Honestly!! Tut tut, RoF. 
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