Pinsent Masons Launches "BASe"

Clients including Royal London, the UK's largest mutual life, pensions and investment company, and Lendlease, the Australian-listed property and real estate multinational, have already signed up to the Brexit Advisory Services (BASe) portal.

Subscribers to BASe will gain access to an online portal where they can:

• ask as many questions as they like on Brexit-related operational matters and receive an answer within 48 hours
• access a database of the most frequently asked questions passing through the system, and a library of Pinsent Masons knowledge on Brexit-related matters.
• access to analyses of what issues are 'trending' across industries based on the enquiries processed through the portal
• download a series of insight papers designed to help businesses identify what strategic and operational questions Brexit poses for their business in the medium term.

The BASe portal is designed to alleviate the immediate pressure and distraction of operational Brexit enquiries for in-house teams.  Additionally, it is intended to become a key reference point for updates as negotiations get underway and legal positions change.

The site will also deliver thought-provoking content from Pinsent Masons and influential third parties on the strategic questions facing in house legal teams as Brexit approaches.

Alastair Morrison, Head of Client Strategy at Pinsent Masons, says:

"The next few months - and years - will be challenging for in house teams. They will play a pivotal role in informing their organisations' strategic response to Brexit, yet have to balance that against all the other pressures and priorities that existed before the UK voted to leave the EU.  BASe is a recognition of and response to that pressure."

"By creating this service we can take away the pressure of dealing with the day-to-day enquiries, and help clients to surface what is happening within their own organisations and among their peers. One of the benefits of our sector-focused approach is that we can look across segments and see where the common issues are and present that insight back to the subscribers."

"We will also help shape the strategic thinking around what lies ahead by taking an in-depth look at some of the macro issues around areas like taxation, the supply of talent and so on. It's a unique tool and part of our suite of innovation linked to Brexit. Brexit is an unprecedented challenge that requires a new type of response. Simply providing legal services in the same traditional way will be selling clients short."

The launch of BASe comes after the firm announced in August that it would be launching a UK-wide Public Policy Unit, led by former RBS comms veteran Andrew Henderson, to help clients engage with government on the policy issues relevant to them ahead of exit negotiations.