Allen & Overy’s (A&O’s) former managing partner, Andrew Ballheimer, is joining alternative legal service provider (ALSP) Factor as a non-executive director. 

The appointment comes as Factor looks to strengthen its position bridging the worlds of traditional law and new law, with Ballheimer set to add depth and leadership experience from the perspective of a veteran in the traditional law firm sector.

Ballheimer retired from his position as global managing partner at A&O in April 2020 after three decades of service during which he oversaw a number tech-focused ventures including the launch of the firm’s flexible resourcing arm Peerpoint and its legal tech innovation lab, Fuse. 

He said Factor’s work at the “forefront of change” in the legal industry in offering solutions for complex legal work on a large scale made it a good “cultural fit” for the next step in his career. 

“I’m aware of the market’s appetite for legal innovation to move from hype to reality, and feel Factor is extraordinarily well-positioned to drive this,” he said.

Factor was spun out of legal resourcing giant Axiom in February 2019 and traded as Axiom Managed Solutions until its relaunch in January last year. It boasts more than 500 lawyers, legal specialists, technologists and process consultants with offices in Chicago, New York, London, Belfast and Poland.

CEO Varun Mehta said the company’s clients would “greatly benefit” from Ballheimer’s experience in “attracting and developing the best legal talent in the market”.

BT Global general counsel Jeff Langlands, a client of Factor, gave the hire his stamp of approval. “It’s promising to see a former law firm leader like Andrew helping shape Factor,” he said. “The prospect of adding his insights and experience from the world of traditional law with the emerging capabilities of new law could open up a world of new possibilities.” 

Last year, Factor added former Deloitte vice chair Carol Lindstrom to its board of directors shortly after receiving an investment from software-focused investment firm Carrick Capital Partners. The deal reportedly represented one of the largest new net investments in the global legal solutions market to date. 

Research published last month by Thomson Reuters argued the ALSP market had ‘reached a point of maturity with 79% of US law firms and 71% of in-house teams now engaging ALSPs for legal work compared to 51% and 61% respectively in 2016.