Chief Executive Bryan Hunt
UK-based Everheds is on a quest for the Holy Grail. At least that is how the firm is explaining its explosive growth.
Through acquisitions, alliances and sought-after mergers, the firm is boosting its presence dramatically in Asia, Latin America, Africa and potentially the United States.
Following on the success of its Africa Law Institute (EALI), Eversheds has created two new alliance networks covering Asia Pacific and Latin America. The firm’s most recent success has come in Asia. Its Asia Pacific Alliance, which includes Australia, Malaysia and Thailand now numbers 20 law firms in 41 jurisdictions. That group is targeted to grow similar to the EALI network, which had 15 original firms at its inception and now has 37.
Stephen Kitts, Eversheds’ managing partner in Asia, said: “[the plan] follows in the footsteps of what we’ve done in Africa. We’ve been working with a number of relationship firms in Asia Pacific and we’ve decided this is a natural next step to raise the game on how we work with these firms.”
The firm is also engaged in a similar strategy aimed at blanketing Latin America. The Latin America Alliance (ELAA) will comprise 19 firms across 13 countries, including Brazil, Argentina and Chile.
Corporate partner Keith Froud has said: ‘It is more strategically focused in terms of either one or two firms in each country, coordinating the alliance in a way that we are sharing a lot more information with the individual firms but also the group as a whole. In Latin America we have got pretty full coverage.’’
According to the firm, the networks are about formalizing existing relationships and the relationships will remain non-exclusive. As another example, the firm recently strengthened its Africa Law Institute, bringing up the law firm membership to 37 operating in 43 territories.
But Everheds has not stopped there. It has also picked up offices in Europe and is looking to make a major deal with a U.S. firm and has not been shy about discussing a trans-Atlantic merger.
Everheds recently announced a deal with Finland’s Juridia Butzow. The 165-lawyer firm has merged with Eversheds to create JB Eversheds with five offices in the country including ones in Helsinki and Turku.
Harri Tolppanen, managing partner of Juridia, told The Lawyer: “We share a common strategy with Eversheds to continuously strengthen our position in our domestic market whilst expanding our reach internationally, both across the Nordic region and globally.”
Not stopping there the firm has also planted its flag in South Africa by joining forces with local firm Knight Turner in Durban. Knight Turner will now be known as Eversheds KZN. Bryan Hughes, chief executive of Eversheds, said: “This latest agreement with established firm Knight Turner, forms a key part of our pan African strategy as we firmly establish a presence in South Africa. Durban offers a strong commercial and logistics hub.”
Looking West
The moves come as Eversheds actively looks for a U.S. merger, something the partnership backed with a 90 percent vote in June. The firm has been vocal about its goals. Chief Executive Bryan Hughes has visited the U.S. twice and has held talks with firms, although he is not disclosing which ones.
What is clear is that its international expansion is the groundwork for such a deal.
Asia Managing Partner Kitts said: “The consistent feedback that you get from the market is that there are very few, if any, law firms who can genuinely offer multi-jurisdictional advice. I think that’s the Holy Grail.”
