Eversheds
No of UK Partners: 310
No of UK Assistant Solicitors: 1000
www.eversheds.com
To view the list of current vacancies at Eversheds, please click here.
Eversheds may have its roots in the provinces, but ‘regional’ is a tag the firm is keen to shake off. Instead, it prefers to emphasise its status as the UK’s largest law firm by fee-earners and the world’s third-largest. It also claims to advise more FTSE250 companies than any other firm and its strategic emphasis is firmly fixed on establishing its national and international credentials in the minds of the legal marketplace.
This does not mean, however, that the firm is about to abandon its regional presence. As home to 250 of the firm’s 1,250 lawyers, Leeds is an integral part of Eversheds’ network. This network extends to offices in London and most other parts of the country, as well as overseas outposts in France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Bulgaria, China, Singapore and Qatar.
Although it may not be official policy, different parts of the network have naturally developed as ‘centres of excellence’ within the firm. This process has accelerated since its offices went through the rather turbulent procedure of financial integration and the development of national practice lines in 2000.
So the Leeds office, while full-service, is the headquarters of the firm’s national telecoms practice and has concentrations of expertise in local government and public sector work, projects and (with Manchester) environmental law. ‘Trophy’ clients include Asda (whose former head of legal, Denise Jagger, has recently joined Eversheds as a partner), HBOS, Centrica, Dupont and the Big Food Group, although most of the firm’s clients are serviced from more than one office.
The firm is clearly expecting continued growth in the city. It’s pre-let 120,000 sq ft of a new landmark building, Bridgewater Place, which will be Leeds’ tallest when it is completed in 2006.
Eversheds’ other major strategic initiative is to focus on its internal culture. The ‘Visions & Values’ statement issued in 2003 by incoming managing partner David Gray, who was Leeds and Manchester managing partner before moving onto higher things (as, for that matter, was his predecessor David Ansbro), envisages that the firm should be both a “great place to work” and the “most client-centred international law firm.”
Eversheds insists that this is more than just fine talk. It means an increased emphasis on training and personal development, progressive employment policies (one-quarter of the firm already works on some form of flexible basis) and a focus on the individual behaviour of management, or ‘mutual respect’ as the firm describes it.
“The key to the firm is our people and our clients” says Leeds and Manchester managing partner, Stephen Hopkins. “We are focused on getting the best out of people and creating a motivational place to work so that we can genuinely invest in and provide the most client-focused service.”
This obviously informs the choice of recruits “We want to hire people who share our vision” Hopkins says. “Technical expertise and intellectual expertise are taken as read, but we need people who also understand what it is to exceed expectations in respect of service, delivery and advice, to reflect our values of teamwork and mutual respect and be able to get on with a spectrum of people.”
“We are looking for people with customer service in their DNA.”
To view the list of current vacancies at Eversheds, please click here.
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