Eversheds reveals transatlantic tie-up talks

In the second announcement of a significant transatlantic merger this week, international firm Eversheds has revealed that it is in discussions with US firm Sutherland. The proposed 'combination', Eversheds Sutherland, would be a firm with 2,300 lawyers in 29 countries.

A statement last night said: 'The firms have presented a proposal to their partners and will run their internal processes concurrently with a formal vote by both partnerships likely to take place before year-end. A new entity called Eversheds Sutherland, overseen by a global board and with equal representation from each firm, would be created by this transaction.' 

The announcement came on the day that international firm Holman Fenwick Willan announced that it had agreed to merge with US-based Legge Farrow Kimmitt McGrath & Brown.

According to the Eversheds-Sutherland statement, the rationale for the proposed merger is 'a shared vision of providing clients with high-quality, consistent and coordinated service around the globe'. 

Eversheds chief executive Bryan Hughes stated: 'Our strategic ambition is to provide a high quality offering and a single legal solution to clients wherever they are required globally. Joining forces with Sutherland will give each firm’s clients a global platform and we will be discussing the proposal with our partners positively in the coming weeks.'

Sutherland managing partner Mark Wasserman added:  'As our clients continue to pursue many of the most important and complex business opportunities around the world, our attorneys continue to seek ways to enhance the firm’s long standing tradition of providing clients with the highest quality service and innovative solutions.  We look forward to discussions over the next few weeks about the opportunities this transaction will bring to our clients.'

Eversheds says it operates in 55 offices across 28 jurisdictions across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In the financial year 2015/16 it reported profits of £87.6m on revenues of £406m). 

Sutherland has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, New York, Sacramento, California and Washington DC, as well as in London and Geneva. It has 170 partners and 200 other lawyers. It reported net profits of $121m in 2015, on revenues of $300m. 

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Eversheds reveals transatlantic tie-up talks