Eversheds Sutherland is a global multinational law practice created by a combination of
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 (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...
s Eversheds LLP and
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, rebranded to the abbreviated name of Sutherland, was an AmLaw 100 American law firm. Founded in 1924 by William Sutherland and Elbert Tuttle as Sutherland & Tuttle, the firm originally achieved national promine ...
, in February 2017, and is one of the 50 largest law practices in the world.
History
1988 to 2000
Following initial discussions in 1988, Eversheds was originally established in 1989 by a joint venture between
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
-based Alexander Tatham & Co,
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
-based Daynes Hill & Perks,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
-based Evershed Wells & Hind,
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
-based Ingledew Botterell and
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
-based Philips & Buck. In 1990 the firm merged with
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
-based Hepworth & Chadwick. In 1991, the firm merged with
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
-based Turner Martin & Symes. In 1992, the firm rebranded all of its member firms with the prefix "Eversheds", the names of which were all shortened to just Eversheds in 1995. Eversheds merged with
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
-based Holt Philips in 1994 and the London, Jersey and
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
offices of Jacques & Lewis in 1995. In 1996 Eversheds Consulting was formed. 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 ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
-based Sandal Lunoe and acquired the London, Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
and Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
offices of Frere Cholmeley Bischoff.[ In November 1998, Eversheds merged with ]Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
-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 Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
firm Piergrossi Villa Bianchini Riccardi. In 2003 Eversheds became Eversheds LLP, a limited liability partnership. It also transferred its Monaco office to Lawrence Graham and formed an association with Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
i firm Al-Jufairi. In 2004 Eversheds formed an alliance with Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n firm Shahrizat Rashid & Lee and associated with Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n firm Lambert, Hungarian firm Sándor Szegedi Szent-Ivány Komáromi and Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
firm Lupicinio. Eversheds formed alliances with Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
firm Andrén Bratt Partners, German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
firm Heisse Kursawe and Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
firm Wierzbowski i Wspólnicy in 2005. Also in 2005 was the incorporation of Eversheds International Limited. In 2006 Eversheds was granted a licence to open an office in Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, formed an association with Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
firm O'Donnell Sweeney and became the first international law firm to be awarded an operating licence in the Qatar Financial Centre in Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
, Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
. Also in 2006, Eversheds alliance with Baier Lambert in Austria was terminated and replaced by an alliance with a new firm, Lambert Eversheds. In 2007 Eversheds associated with Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
firm Balcar Polanský, Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
n firm Ots & Co, Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
n firm Baltmane & Bitans and Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
n firm Saladzius & Partners. In 2008, the Paris office, Eversheds Frere Cholmeley, overcame regulatory issues and re-branded itself as Eversheds. Also in 2008, Eversheds was granted a licence to operate in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
, United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
and associated with Netherlands-based Faasen and Partners, South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
-based Routledge Modise and Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
-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 ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
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 2016
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. 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".
In 2012, Lambert Eversheds rebranded to Eversheds. The offices in Amman, Baghdad, Dubai and Riyadh, previously "in association with Eversheds KSLG" rebranded to "in association with Eversheds".
In 2013 Eversheds split from its South African arm, which rebranded to its former name, Routledge Modise. Eversheds opened a new office in Beijing. Eversheds opened its seventh Middle East office, and second Iraqi office, located in Erbil. Eversheds opened its first African office in Tunisia. Eversheds El Heni became a member of the Eversheds African Law Institute (EALI). Eversheds Faasen in the Netherlands re-branded to Eversheds B.V.
In December 2013 Eversheds announced a tie up with South African medium-sized law firm, Mahons Attorneys, giving Eversheds bases in Johannesburg, Cape Town and in Mauritius.
In 2014, Heisse Kursawe Eversheds opened an office in Berlin. Eversheds in South Africa merged with Knight Turner resulting in a third South African office in Durban. Eversheds formed an association with Juridia Bützow which became JB Eversheds in Finland with a national coverage of five offices, located in Hämeenlinna, Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Tampere and Turku.
In 2015, JB Eversheds opened its sixth office in Finland in Pori. Heisse Kursawe Eversheds merged with Eversheds. Eversheds opened an office in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Finnish offices re-branded from JB Eversheds to Eversheds Asianajotoimisto Oy / Eversheds Attorneys Ltd. Eversheds Bianchini rebranded to Eversheds - Associazione Professionale trading as "Eversheds". In Romania, Eversheds Lina & Guia rebranded to Eversheds.
On 29 November 2016 it was announced that Eversheds was in late stage merger talks with the U.S. firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan. The merger would create the 39th largest firm by revenue globally, and push Eversheds into the top 10 law firms in the UK, where it will rank tenth largest. On 16 December 2016 Eversheds announced that the merger was approved and the new firm would start operating under the name ''Eversheds Sutherland'' starting 1 February 2017.
2017 to present
On 1 June 2017 Eversheds Sutherland and Harry Elias Partnership (HEP) merged to become Eversheds Harry Elias in Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.
Also in 2017, Eversheds Sweden merged with Northlaw Advisors. Eversheds Sutherland opened an office in Düsseldorf. Eversheds Sutherland opened an office in Luxembourg. Eversheds Sutherland opened an office in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Notes
References
External links
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{{Law firms of the United Kingdom
Law firms of the United Kingdom
Law firms established in 1988
1988 establishments in the United Kingdom
Law firms of Wales
Law firms based in Cardiff
Law firms established in 2017
Law firms established in 1924
1924 establishments in the United Kingdom
2017 establishments in the United Kingdom
Foreign law firms with offices in the Netherlands
Foreign law firms with offices in Hong Kong