Clyde & Co
Encyclopedia
Clyde & Co is an international law firm which works worldwide across 120 countries. The firm's work is cross-border, high profile and complex. The firm employs nearly 700 fee-earners in 23 offices across Europe
, the Middle East
, Asia
, North
, Latin America
and Africa
who are qualified in 17 jurisdictions and fluent in over 37 languages.
The firm has expanded rapidly in recent years and is a key player in the aviation, insurance and reinsurance, international trade and energy and shipping sectors.
According to The Lawyer magazine, in 2007 Clyde & Co was the 20th biggest law firm in the Lawyer UK 200 with a turnover of £135m. In 2005 The Lawyer ranked Clyde & Co as the 36th largest law firm in the Lawyer Euro 100.
The earliest record of Dick Clyde as a solicitor in independent practice, dates from 1928, although it was in 1933 that having left his position as an assistant solicitor with a well known firm of City marine lawyers, he set up his own office in Lime Street in the heart of the insurance district of the City of London. He managed to attract instructions from Lloyd's Underwriters and insurance companies, and within a short time went into partnership with Maurice Hill, a member of the founding family of the Liverpool solicitors Hill Dickinson
& Co, and a descendant of Sir Rowland Hill who had established the penny post.
& Co to look after 'for the duration'. One clerk went into the army, Clyde and the other clerk to the office of the Treasury Solicitor, and Hill to the RAF to help run a bomber base in Lincolnshire
.
When they all returned in 1945, fortunately unscathed, it was to a partially bombed office in Gracechurch Street
without a back wall. They were soon joined by Gordon Blacker, who miraculously had survived a long tour of duty
as an RAF bomber
pilot, and who had thus met Maurice Hill.
He was succeeded as Senior Partner by Maurice Hill. During Hill's time, office rents in the City of London
reached the then dizzy heights of 17 shillings and 6 pence (87.5p) per square foot. In 1969 the partners therefore decided to move what would now be called 'back office' functions and two partners to Guildford, thus founding what has become the firm's second largest office, now offering to international, national, and local clients a very wide range of legal services.
; others have since followed.
Gordon Blacker retired in 1984, and was succeeded by the present Senior Partner, Michael Payton, who had joined the firm in 1966. He, too, led a process not only of expansion but also of diversification. In particular, he brought into the firm its first non-contentious company lawyers, thus broadening the scope of the practice from its previous concentration on marine and insurance litigation.
Under Michael Payton's leadership, the firm has continued to grow, to diversify its practice areas, and to open new offices overseas.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, North
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
who are qualified in 17 jurisdictions and fluent in over 37 languages.
The firm has expanded rapidly in recent years and is a key player in the aviation, insurance and reinsurance, international trade and energy and shipping sectors.
According to The Lawyer magazine, in 2007 Clyde & Co was the 20th biggest law firm in the Lawyer UK 200 with a turnover of £135m. In 2005 The Lawyer ranked Clyde & Co as the 36th largest law firm in the Lawyer Euro 100.
Main areas of practice
The firm specialises in the following areas:- AviationAviation lawAviation law is the branch of law that concerns flight, air travel, and associated legal and business concerns. Some of its area of concern overlaps that of admiralty law and in many cases, aviation law is considered a matter of international law due to the nature of air travel. However, the...
and aerospace - CorporateCorporate lawCorporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...
and commercialCommercial lawCommercial law is the body of law that governs business and commercial transactions... - Dispute resolutionDispute resolutionDispute resolution is the process of resolving disputes between parties.-Methods:Methods of dispute resolution include:* lawsuits * arbitration* collaborative law* mediation* conciliation* many types of negotiation* facilitation...
- ECEuropean Union lawEuropean Union law is a body of treaties and legislation, such as Regulations and Directives, which have direct effect or indirect effect on the laws of European Union member states. The three sources of European Union law are primary law, secondary law and supplementary law...
, competitionCompetition lawCompetition law, known in the United States as antitrust law, is law that promotes or maintains market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies....
and trade regulation - Employment
- Energy, tradeInternational trade lawInternational trade law includes the appropriate rules and customs for handling trade between countries. However, it is also used in legal writings as trade between private sectors, which is not right. This branch of law is now an independent field of study as most governments has become part of...
and commodities - InsuranceInsuranceIn law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
and reinsuranceReinsuranceReinsurance is insurance that is purchased by an insurance company from another insurance company as a means of risk management... - Real estateProperty lawProperty law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...
and construction - Shipping
- Transport and logistics
Firm history
Clyde & Co was founded by Richard Arthur Clyde, a Scot who took the high road to England. He came from a distinguished Scottish legal family, which in the last 120 years has produced three Lords President of the Court of Session, the most recent of whom also became a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, a position from which he retired only in 2001.The earliest record of Dick Clyde as a solicitor in independent practice, dates from 1928, although it was in 1933 that having left his position as an assistant solicitor with a well known firm of City marine lawyers, he set up his own office in Lime Street in the heart of the insurance district of the City of London. He managed to attract instructions from Lloyd's Underwriters and insurance companies, and within a short time went into partnership with Maurice Hill, a member of the founding family of the Liverpool solicitors Hill Dickinson
Hill Dickinson
Hill Dickinson offers a range of legal services from five offices in offices England as well as offices in Piraeus and Singapore. Collectively the firms have over 150 partners and a complement of more than 1,300 staff.-History:...
& Co, and a descendant of Sir Rowland Hill who had established the penny post.
World War II
The firm remained small, comprising only the two partners and their two young clerks. At the outbreak of war in 1939, the partners realised that the firm could not continue, so they handed their practice to Hill DickinsonHill Dickinson
Hill Dickinson offers a range of legal services from five offices in offices England as well as offices in Piraeus and Singapore. Collectively the firms have over 150 partners and a complement of more than 1,300 staff.-History:...
& Co to look after 'for the duration'. One clerk went into the army, Clyde and the other clerk to the office of the Treasury Solicitor, and Hill to the RAF to help run a bomber base in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
.
When they all returned in 1945, fortunately unscathed, it was to a partially bombed office in Gracechurch Street
Gracechurch Street
Gracechurch Street is a street in the City of London which forms part of the A10. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, offices and Leadenhall Market....
without a back wall. They were soon joined by Gordon Blacker, who miraculously had survived a long tour of duty
Tour of duty
In the Navy, a tour of duty is a period of time spent performing operational duties at sea, including combat, performing patrol or fleet duties, or assigned to service in a foreign country....
as an RAF bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
pilot, and who had thus met Maurice Hill.
Post-war success
The firm progressed quietly but steadily in the post-war years. Dick Clyde was instrumental in persuading a wealthy client to found St Anthony's College at Oxford, and he played a prominent part in the process. In 1953 Michael Wilford became Dick Clyde's articled clerk. He remained with the firm until 2001, and is the author of the leading text book on the law of Time Charters, and series editor to Lloyd's Shipping Law Library.Expansion into Guildford
Clyde retired in 1959, and established himself as one of the City's most prominent maritime arbitrators, in which he continued until his death in 1975.He was succeeded as Senior Partner by Maurice Hill. During Hill's time, office rents in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
reached the then dizzy heights of 17 shillings and 6 pence (87.5p) per square foot. In 1969 the partners therefore decided to move what would now be called 'back office' functions and two partners to Guildford, thus founding what has become the firm's second largest office, now offering to international, national, and local clients a very wide range of legal services.
1977 fire
Maurice Hill died in office in 1971, and Gordon Blacker became Senior Partner, a post he was to hold for thirteen years. Blacker was a man of immense drive and vision, and under his leadership the firm embarked on a process of expansion which led to it doubling in size every five years. Even a serious fire which in 1977 severely damaged the London office did not hinder the process.Diversification and international expansion
Reflecting the firm's international outlook, in 1981 the first overseas office was opened in Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
; others have since followed.
Gordon Blacker retired in 1984, and was succeeded by the present Senior Partner, Michael Payton, who had joined the firm in 1966. He, too, led a process not only of expansion but also of diversification. In particular, he brought into the firm its first non-contentious company lawyers, thus broadening the scope of the practice from its previous concentration on marine and insurance litigation.
Under Michael Payton's leadership, the firm has continued to grow, to diversify its practice areas, and to open new offices overseas.
External links
- Clyde & Co official site - http://www.clydeco.com/
- Firm rankings in Chambers UK, Chambers Global, Chambers Asia, Chambers USA,Chambers Europe and
- Chambers Latin America