(Reuters) - Law firm Rimon launched new locations in London and Paris in the past month, building on an international expansion that has picked up speed.

"We have always wanted to be a global law firm since the beginning," said Michael Moradzadeh, founding partner and chief executive of the firm. Rimon expanded into Sydney, Dubai, Berlin and Bogota in 2020, a year in which the firm posted a 53% increase in revenue from 2019.

The San Francisco-founded firm also opened new offices in the U.S. last year, including in Houston and Birmingham, and has established outposts in Santa Barbara and Greenville this year. The firm has 37 offices across five continents.

Rimon, which opened its doors in 2008, combines elements of both virtual and traditional law firms, Moradzadeh said. Attorneys have more autonomy than they would at a traditional firm, he said, but unlike some truly virtual firms, Rimon has more physical infrastructure and administrative and other support, he said. About 20% of its lawyers regularly go into its "streamlined" offices, and the firm relies on cloud-based technology.

The firm opened its Paris office last month with Olivia Lê Horovitz, a corporate partner who founded K&L Gates' Paris office in 2008. She had been at French law firm Simon Associés since 2018.

Spearheading the launch of the London office is Roger Parker, who, according to his LinkedIn page, most recently worked for himself. Parker was previously at Reed Smith, at one point as managing partner for EMEA. He played an "integral role" in driving Reed Smith's merger with law firm Richards Butler, where he practiced at the time, Rimon said in announcing the new office and his hire earlier this week.

Parker didn't immediately respond to a request for further comment on his role, which is a new one for the firm: director of strategic operations in Europe. Rimon said he will focus on expansion efforts in Europe, and in particular the United Kingdom.

The COVID-19 pandemic and broader shift to remote work in the industry helped accelerate the firm's growth, Moradzadeh said, with attorney headcount up 29% and partner headcount up 30% last year.

Revenue per attorney increased 19% and revenue per partner increased 17% year over year, according to the firm. Moradzadeh, who said the firm does not share total revenue or profits per equity partner figures, also highlighted the firm's cross-service rate, the percentage of work done that was billed by someone who did not originate the work. That number was at 49.5% year over year.

Virtual and hybrid firms in general saw lawyers flocking to their models last year, as the pandemic shuttered offices across the country. Moradzadeh said the shift to virtual work also showed clients and potential clients the effectiveness of remote-work enabling technologies that firms like his have relied on for years.

Rimon's geographic expansion has also been creating fresh momentum for the firm, Moradzadeh said.

"I think we've hit a great inflection point where we've got that critical mass, we've got enough of the major markets covered so that we can then really grow much more quickly into new markets," he said.