Major European tech law firm opens UK office – UKTN

A major tech-focused European law firm has opened an office in King’s Cross, London, as it eyes up global expansion plans. 

This is the first international office for Berlin-headquartered YPOG, an acronym for You + Partners of Gamechangers.

James Shaw, who previously co-founded law firm JAG Saw Baker and worked as a partner at global law firm Withers after the two merged, will lead YPOG’s new UK business.

He is joined by Susanna Stanfield, Iain Cockburn, Mary Harley, Andrew Gay, Tina Baker and Ben Williams, all of whom also worked at Withers and had recently left it to set up their own AI law venture. 

They have previously worked with scaleups like Wise, Revolut and Snyk as well as funds such as Stride.VC, Phoenix Court and Index Ventures. 

Although James and his former colleagues at Withers were planning to build this new practice from the ground up, the opportunity arose to join forces with YPOG instead.

“The firm invests heavily in technology experts to help solve legal problems,” said Shaw in a statement. 

“Most importantly, they think like us, which is why joining forces with YPOG makes complete sense.”

YPOG’s entry into the UK law market comes as it experiences impressive growth. In the past year, it’s worked on more than 100 deals. Current clients include Helsing, Bullish, Personio, HV Capital, Atomico, Northzone and Phoenix Court. 

In addition to offering services such as corporate law, fund structuring, tax, intellectual property, litigation and compliance, it also employs an internal AI team that has developed a proprietary legal software-as-a-service product helping more than 500 companies handle compliance.

Benjamin Ullrich, co-managing partner at YPOG, said of the London expansion: “After expanding to Munich last year, opening up an office in the UK puts us at the heart of European innovation, and is our first move to building a truly pan-European brand.”

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