Herbert Smith employs 1, 400 lawyers and has offices in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

BBC: 'Top law firm' brings jobs to Belfast

The Herbert Smith Belfast office is expected to be up and running by the end of April 2011.

BBC: 'Top law firm' brings jobs to Belfast

It is hard to enforce policies limiting state-aid without a member state's backing, says Stephen Kinsella, a lawyer in Herbert Smith's Brussels office.

ECONOMIST: State aid in Europe

Graeme Johnston, the Herbert Smith partner who led the project team, said they had considered a number of location options before deciding on Belfast.

BBC: 'Top law firm' brings jobs to Belfast

Headquartered in London, Herbert Smith is involved in a wide variety of fields particularly in dispute resolution and corporate law, its main clients are national and multinational businesses.

BBC: 'Top law firm' brings jobs to Belfast

Last year, another London law firm, Herbert Smith, said it was relocating some of its back office workers to Belfast and also hoped to employ as many as 26 legal professionals.

BBC: Law firm Allen and Overy creating 300 jobs in Belfast

Sonya Leydecker, head of the firm's global disputes practice, said the decision to open in Belfast would enable Herbert Smith to offer clients "a very attractive combination of quality, efficiency and value for money".

BBC: 'Top law firm' brings jobs to Belfast

You have to go back to the 1920s, when stolid Herbert Hoover beat jaunty Al Smith, to find this rule violated--and there have been very few other exceptions.

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