Both parties have made a "declaration of confidence" with the four-year agreement reached during the uncertain times of the coronavirus pandemic.

Pinsent Masons was founded in Britain in 1769 and has 25 offices across the world, in five continents.

The company was voted as Law Firm of the Year at the Legal Business Awards last year.

"In many ways, this agreement represents our ambitions for our sport as a global powerhouse," said World Athletics President Seb Coe.

"We want to have the best partners, ones who can help us deliver – we will need Pinsents' skillset in a number of areas as we continue to build athletics around the world and I'm delighted that they also see the value in this relationship. 

"Our world is changing rapidly, even more so with the current pandemic, and we need nimble and forward-thinking partners to help us make the most of the opportunities this will present. 

"Like us, they see innovation as a key component of success. 

"Their global presence and relationships will allow us to access their services wherever we are, which is particularly useful for an organisation with 214 Member Federations and major events staged across the world, and their expertise will help us to maintain world-best practice in our governance and commercial relationships."

Trevor Watkins, the head of sports at Pinsent Masons, added: "We participated in a very rigorous tender process to secure this appointment.

"During it we established that we have shared values and a common purpose of championing change, promoting progress and enabling everyone to ensure business works better, in short by striving to be world-class organisations.

"We believe we have a strong synergy with World Athletics in its desire to be the very best of sporting federations on governance, regulation and innovation. 

"That message really rings true to us as a firm that embraces innovation, technology and strategic thinking. 

"We've had a tremendous response from our offices around the world to the prospect of this agreement and the opportunity to work with a sport that our team finds inspirational on many levels. 

"Many of them are members of running clubs and participate as volunteers within sport and this partnership will allow them to combine their existing passion for the sport and their professional expertise."