Eversheds
Encyclopedia
Eversheds LLP is an international law firm
headquartered in London
, United Kingdom
. It is one of the 50 largest law firms in the world measured by revenues. In 2009/10 it achieved total revenues of £355.2 million, making it the ninth-largest UK-based law firm by this measurement, and profits per equity partner of £517,000. It employs around 1,220 lawyers and around 1,745 other staff in 45 offices in major cities across Africa
, Asia
, Europe
and the Middle East
.
-based Alexander Tatham & Co, Sheffield
-based Broomheads & Neals, Norwich
-based Daynes Hill & Perks and Birmingham
-based Evershed & Tomkinson. Later in 1988 the combined firm merged with Newcastle upon Tyne
-based Ingledew Botterell Roche & Temperley. In 1989 the firm merged with Cardiff
-based Philips & Buck and Nottingham
-based Wells & Hind. In 1990 the firm merged with Leeds
-based Hepworth & Chadwick. In 1991 the firm merged with Ipswich
-based Turner Martin & Symes. In 1992 the firm rebranded all of its member firms with the prefix ‘Eversheds’, the names of which were shortened to just ‘Eversheds’ in 1995. Eversheds merged with Bristol
-based Holt Philips in 1994 and the London and Brussels
offices of Jacques & Lewis in 1995. In May 1996 the insurance, corporate and property groups of London-based Waltons & Morse joined Eversheds. In August 1997 Eversheds merged with Newcastle upon Tyne-based Wilkinson Maughan. In May 1998 Eversheds formed an alliance with Copenhagen
-based Sandal Lunoe and acquired the London, Paris
, Sofia
and Moscow
offices of Frere Cholmeley Bischoff. In November 1998 Eversheds merged with Cambridge
-based Palmer Wheeldon. In 2000 Eversheds merged with Newcastle upon Tyne-based Linsley & Mortimer and financially integrated all of its UK offices.
firm Piergrossi Villa Bianchini Riccardi. In 2003 Eversheds merged with its associated Copenhagen office and formed an association with Qatari
firm Al-Jufairi. In 2004 Eversheds formed an alliance with Malaysian firm Shahrizat Rashid & Lee and associated with Austrian
firm Lambert, Hungarian
firm Sándor Szegedi Szent-Ivány Komáromi and Spanish
firm Lupicinio. Eversheds formed alliances with Swedish
firm Andrén Bratt Partners, German
firm Heisse Kursawe and Polish
firm Wierzbowski i Wspólnicy in 2005. In 2006 Eversheds was granted a licence to open an office in Shanghai
, China
, formed an association with Irish
firm O’Donnell Sweeney and became the first international law firm to be awarded an operating licence in the Qatar Financial Centre
in Doha
, Qatar
. In 2007 Eversheds associated with Czech
firm Balcar Polanský, Estonian
firm Ots & Co, Latvian
firm Baltmane & Bitans and Lithuanian
firm Saladzius & Partners. In 2008 Eversheds was granted a licence to operate in Abu Dhabi
, United Arab Emirates
and associated with Netherlands-based Faasen and Partners, South Africa
-based Routledge Modise and Switzerland
-based Schmid. In September 2008 Eversheds announced that the activities of its Norwich and Cambridge offices would be merged and the Norwich office closed. Eversheds opened offices in Edinburgh
, Hong Kong
and Singapore
in 2009. Between 2008 and 2010 Eversheds had four rounds of redundancies and cut a total of around 730 jobs, the largest staff reductions of any UK-based law firm in that period.
, Asia
, Europe
and the Middle East
:
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
headquartered in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is one of the 50 largest law firms in the world measured by revenues. In 2009/10 it achieved total revenues of £355.2 million, making it the ninth-largest UK-based law firm by this measurement, and profits per equity partner of £517,000. It employs around 1,220 lawyers and around 1,745 other staff in 45 offices in major cities across 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...
, 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...
, Europe
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...
and 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...
.
1998 to 2000
Eversheds was originally established in 1988 by a four-way merger between ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
-based Alexander Tatham & Co, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
-based Broomheads & Neals, Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
-based Daynes Hill & Perks and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
-based Evershed & Tomkinson. Later in 1988 the combined firm merged with Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
-based Ingledew Botterell Roche & Temperley. In 1989 the firm merged with Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
-based Philips & Buck and Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
-based Wells & Hind. In 1990 the firm merged with Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
-based Hepworth & Chadwick. In 1991 the firm merged with Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
-based Turner Martin & Symes. In 1992 the firm rebranded all of its member firms with the prefix ‘Eversheds’, the names of which were shortened to just ‘Eversheds’ in 1995. Eversheds merged with Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
-based Holt Philips in 1994 and the London and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
offices of Jacques & Lewis in 1995. In May 1996 the insurance, corporate and property groups of London-based Waltons & Morse joined Eversheds. In August 1997 Eversheds merged with Newcastle upon Tyne-based Wilkinson Maughan. In May 1998 Eversheds formed an alliance with Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
-based Sandal Lunoe and acquired the London, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
offices of Frere Cholmeley Bischoff. In November 1998 Eversheds merged with Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
-based Palmer Wheeldon. In 2000 Eversheds merged with Newcastle upon Tyne-based Linsley & Mortimer and financially integrated all of its UK offices.
2000 to 2010
Eversheds merged the activities of its Bristol and Cardiff offices in 2001 and simultaneously closed the Bristol office. In 2002 Eversheds formed an alliance with ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
firm Piergrossi Villa Bianchini Riccardi. In 2003 Eversheds merged with its associated Copenhagen office and formed an association with Qatari
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
firm Al-Jufairi. In 2004 Eversheds formed an alliance with Malaysian firm Shahrizat Rashid & Lee and associated with Austrian
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
firm Lambert, Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
firm Sándor Szegedi Szent-Ivány Komáromi and Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
firm Lupicinio. Eversheds formed alliances with Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
firm Andrén Bratt Partners, German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
firm Heisse Kursawe and Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
firm Wierzbowski i Wspólnicy in 2005. In 2006 Eversheds was granted a licence to open an office in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, formed an association with Irish
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
firm O’Donnell Sweeney and became the first international law firm to be awarded an operating licence in the Qatar Financial Centre
Qatar Financial Centre
Established in March 2005, The Qatar Financial Centre is a business and financial centre located in Doha, providing legal and business infrastructure for financial services...
in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
. In 2007 Eversheds associated with Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
firm Balcar Polanský, Estonian
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
firm Ots & Co, Latvian
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
firm Baltmane & Bitans and Lithuanian
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
firm Saladzius & Partners. In 2008 Eversheds was granted a licence to operate in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
and associated with Netherlands-based Faasen and Partners, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
-based Routledge Modise and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
-based Schmid. In September 2008 Eversheds announced that the activities of its Norwich and Cambridge offices would be merged and the Norwich office closed. Eversheds opened offices in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Hong Kong
Hong 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...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 2009. Between 2008 and 2010 Eversheds had four rounds of redundancies and cut a total of around 730 jobs, the largest staff reductions of any UK-based law firm in that period.
2010 to present
In February 2011 Eversheds parted with its Spanish alliance partner Lupicinio Abogados citing strategic differences, and shortly afterwards formed a new alliance with Spanish law firm Nicea Abogados. In May 2011 Eversheds merged with the law consortium KSLG, which comprised Dhabaan & Partners in Saudi Arabia; Khasawneh & Associates in the UAE; and Sanad Law Group in Jordan and Iraq. The merger brought an additional seven partners and 30 fee-earners to Eversheds, and added offices in Amman, Baghdad, Dubai and Riyadh. In October 2011 the Romanian firm Lina & Guia joined the Eversheds International network, becoming known as Eversheds Lina & Guia, although not integrating fully into Eversheds LLP. In November 2011 Eversheds' Dublin office, Eversheds O’Donnell Sweeney, re-branded as "Eversheds".Main practice areas
Eversheds' main practice areas include:- Antitrust and EU law
- Banking and finance
- Commercial
- Commercial dispute resolution
- Construction and engineering
- Corporate
- Employment and labour law
- Environment
- Financial services
- Fraud and financial crime
- Insurance and reinsurance
- Intellectual property
- International arbitration
- Licensing
- Media
- Outsourcing and offshoring
- Pensions
- Private equity
- Public procurement
- Product liability and product recall
- Project and infrastructure finance
- Public International Law
- Real estate
- Recoveries
- Restructuring
- Shipping
- Tax planning and consultancy
Corporate social responsibility
The BITC Corporate Responsibility Index results in 2008 awarded Eversheds with an overall score of 85%, presenting the firm with a Silver Award.Offices
Eversheds has 45 offices in countries across AfricaAfrica
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...
, 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...
, Europe
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...
and 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...
: