Former UK Government minister Douglas Alexander has joined international law firm Pinsent Masons as a strategic adviser.

Alexander lost his Westminster seat in Paisley and Renfrewshire South to 20-year-old SNP candidate Mhairi Black last year in a massive swing of 26.9% from Labour.

Alexander will divide his time between this new role and his other commitments as a Senior Fellow at Harvard University, visiting professor at King’s College, London and advising U2 frontman Bono.

Alexander, the former Secretary of State for International Development, served in both the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown Labour cabinets.

Alexander also held other high-ranking positions at Westminster including Secretary of State for Transport, Secretary of State for Scotland and Minister for Europe.

Alexander’s remit at Pinsent Masons will include engaging with the firm’s UK based and international clients “as they look to ensure their businesses are connected to their communities, are tackling poverty and inequality through investment and are developing ever more prevalent and robust business ethics and compliance practices.”

The firm said Alexander will also bring his experience to bear “to help Pinsent Masons and their clients develop business strategies to respond to those geopolitical issues” that impact on business from time to time.

“In the short term this will include helping shape the firm’s engagement with clients around the upcoming referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union in June,” said the law firm.

Having established a presence in Brussels last year, Pinsent Masons is now set to roll out a series of events to support clients in identifying the challenges and opportunities arising from any change in Europe.

The first event, which will be chaired by Alexander, will take place on March 17 and feature contributions from FT columnist and European finance expert Wolfgang Munchau.

“Douglas has a stellar reputation as one of the most capable and engaging politicians of his generation,” said Richard Foley, Senior Partner of Pinsent Masons.

“At the heart of Douglas’ remit with us is the issue of responsible business and how organisations can re-build bridges into society at a time when public trust is low.

“In short, it will be about helping executives do business the right way and for the right reasons. He will also bring his experience to bear on some of the major issues that businesses are currently facing.

“First and foremost on that agenda right now is how to engage with the debate around Europe’s future, and there are few better-placed to provide perspectives on that than Douglas.”

Alexander said: “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work further with Pinsent Masons. The firm has a reputation for innovation not just in how it serves its clients, but in how it strives to deliver positive change in the global communities in which it operates.

“It is a firm that seems to think differently to the mainstream and that is what attracted me to them. I look forward to working with Richard and the senior leadership team at the firm.”