Eversheds
No of UK Partners: 310
No of UK Assistant Solicitors: 1000
www.eversheds.com
Despite a regional network that is more extensive than any of its peers, Eversheds’ key message is that it is a ‘national’, and increasingly international firm. Despite some initial scepticism, the message seems to be getting through to the marketplace, especially since the financial integration of what had been a virtual franchise operation in 2000.
The reorganisation of the firm has gone apace since then. It has closed one or two of the more peripheral offices and steadily worked to increase its leverage rate between partners and other lawyers.
It has lifted its sights client-wise too, focusing increasingly on the everyday needs of FTSE clients (it claims to have more on its books than Slaughter and May) as well as developing a top-level reputation with public sector clients.
While each of its major regional offices is a full-service operation, one inevitable consequence of the integration of the network is that the offices will stop simply replicating one another, allowing particular specialisms to develop in each. This strategy is emerging in Manchester, which is perhaps not surprising when the firm’s overall managing partner, David Gray, is the former managing partner of the Leeds and Manchester offices (which, with Newcastle, are managed together from an administrative point of view).
The Manchester office, one of the firm’s strongest, is full-service, but with a particular bent for financial service, telecoms and communications, environmental law and pensions. It also has a very strong public sector practice specialising in regeneration work (where clients include Manchester City Council) and a leading education practice, where the firm has longstanding relationships with both the University of Manchester and UMIST and was instructed to handle the recent merger of the two. It has also developed a sector specialism in the food and retail sector and has put a lot of effort in to advise a large number of inward investors from the United States.
A key part of the reinvention of Eversheds generally is the ‘vision and values’ statement issued by David Gray in 2003, which emphasises that the firm should be both “a great place to work” and the “most client-centred law firm”.
The practical implementation of the statement 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.
It also means that those hoping to join the Eversheds bandwagon should emphasise their client service credentials as much as possible if they are to impress.
“One of the things which differentiates us is the attitude of people and we spend a lot of time getting the right people on board,” says Stephen Hopkins, regional managing partner for the Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle offices.
“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,” he says.
“We are looking for people with customer service in their DNA.”
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