| Allen & Overy | |
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| Headquarters | London |
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| No. of Offices | 31 worldwide |
| No. of Attorneys | approximately 2,700 |
| No. of Employees | approximately 5,000 |
| Major Practice Areas | General practice |
| Revenue |  £1,091m |
| Date Founded | January 1, 1930 |
| Company Type | Limited liability partnership |
| Website | www.allenovery.com |
Allen & Overy is a British law firm with approximately 5,000 staff and 31 offices worldwide. It is widely considered to be one of the world's elite law firms.[1]
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Profile
The firm was founded on January 1, 1930. In May 2004, the worldwide partnership of Allen & Overy converted to a limited liability partnership, Allen & Overy LLP, which works together with associated undertakings in some jurisdictions to form a worldwide legal practice. Allen & Overy has offices in 22 countries, including in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas.
In July 2008 Allen & Overy broke the GBP1 billion turnover mark.[2] In addition, for the first time, over half of its turnover was generated outside of London. According to 2007[3] and 2008[4] rankings, it was the 6th largest law firm in the world by revenue. Allen & Overy's three major areas of commercial practice are Banking & Finance, International Capital Markets and Corporate.
At the 2008 ALB SE Asia Law Awards[5], Allen & Overy was crowned:
- Deal of the Year - Structured Finance and Securitisation Deal of the Year
- Deal of the Year - Singapore Deal of the Year
Allen & Overy was awarded Deal of the Year - M&A Deal of the Year at the 2008 ALB Hong Kong Law Awards[5].
History
Allen & Overy was founded in the City of London on 1st January 1930 by George Allen and Thomas Overy. The main purpose was to build a commercial practice but the firm's reputation was made as a result of George Allen’s role as advisor to King Edward VIII during the abdication crisis of 1936.
Over the years, Allen & Overy have been involved in many developments in the legal field. Such work has included advising on the first hostile takeover in the City of London and drafting the first Eurobond in the 1960s.
Although now a global player, the firm was quite international from the outset, advising mostly Canadian banks and companies. In the last 15 years, Allen & Overy has become a international practice, opening offices in some international financial centres, branching out into newly emerging legal markets, and merging with some firms on the European continent. Some of the firms with whom they have merged have their roots in the 19th Century, so its history is lengthening as well as deepening.
Since 2000 Allen & Overy has also had a successful US law practice, notable for its organic growth in New York and the spread of US qualified lawyers across the international network.
In 2008, as well as achieving record financial results, [6] Allen & Overy opened five new offices in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Mannheim, Düsseldorf and San Paolo, and announced a new association in Romania. The firm also announced a referral arrangement with Trilegal in India. [7]
In the same year the number of lawyers in Allen & Overy's New York office grew to 160, and in Russia the number nearly doubled.
Allen & Overy elected a non-UK managing partner, Wim Dejonghe, while former managing partner David Morley was elected senior partner.
In February, 2009 Allen & Overy announced a major restructuring in which approximately 10% of staff, associates and partners were laid off and pay was frozen for all employees worldwide.
Cases
Guantanamo Bay detainees
Allen & Overy partner Pamela Chepiga led a team of six lawyers, including associate Nicholas Mitchell, who filed habeas corpus petitions on behalf of fifteen Yemeni captives in Guantanamo, and filed an amicus brief before the Supreme Court of the United States when it considered Rasul v. Bush.[8][9]
Charles "Cully" Stimson, then Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs, stirred controversy when he went on record criticizing the patriotism of law firms that allowed employees to assist Guantanamo captives: "corporate CEOs seeing this should ask firms to choose between lucrative retainers and representing terrorists." [10] Stimson's views were widely criticized. The Pentagon disavowed them. He resigned shortly thereafter.
In December, 2007 abovethelaw.com and other sources reported that Allen & Overy had been sued by a former employee who claimed religous discrimination. The case was later settled out of court with Allen & Overy denying the allegations.
HBOS / Lloyds TSB merger cleared
On 31 October 2008, UK Secretary of State for Business, Lord Mandelson, decided to clear the proposed Lloyds TSB merger with HBOS. This is an unusual case because it is the first time that a merger has been cleared on financial stability grounds. Allen & Overy are advising HBOS. [11]
Offices
References
- ^ http://www.thelawyer.com/the-transatlantic-elite/132912.article
- ^ http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article4265365.ece The Times: Allen & Overy's £1billion turnover confirms London as centre of the legal world
- ^ Global 100: international converts put pressure on Wall Street's elite - Legal Week, legal news, comment, events and legal jobs
- ^ http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202424832628
- ^ a b www.legalbusinessonline.com.au
- ^ "Allen & Overy half-year results up 11 per cent". The Times. 2008-11-08. http://www.lawyrs.net/news/show/1430/allen-overy-half-year-results-up-11-per-cent.
- ^ Lind, Sofia (2008-02-25). "Allen & Overy Signs Indian Referral Deal". The Times. http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1203677130086.
- ^ "Lawyers sue U.S. government for 15 Guantanamo detainees from Yemen". USA Today. July 15, 2004. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-07-15-gitmo-lawsuit_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
- ^ Douglas Cox (15 September 2006). "Lawyers want "fair trial" for Guantanamo Bay detainees". Allen & Overy. http://www.allenovery.com/AOWEB/Knowledge/Editorial.aspx?contentTypeID=1&contentSubTypeID=7944&itemID=31309&prefLangID=413. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
- ^ Lewis, Neil (2007-01-13). "Official attacks top law firms over detainees". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/13/washington/13gitmo.html. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
- ^ "Lloyds TSB's HBOS deal is cleared". BBC. 2008-09-31. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7702809.stm.
External links
http://abovethelaw.com/allen_overy
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