Allen & Overy is a multinational
law firm headquartered in London. A member of the UK's Magic Circle of leading
law firms, Allen & Overy is widely considered to be one of the world's
elite law firms, advising national and multinational corporations, financial
institutions, and governments.
Allen
& Overy was founded in the City of London on 1 January 1930 by George Allen
and Thomas Overy, formerly partners at Roney & Co. The main purpose was to
build a commercial practice. 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. By the time the Second World War broke out in 1939, Allen & Overy
had firmly established itself as a leading City law firm.
Over
the years, Allen & Overy has 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 acting for S. G. Warburg & Co. The firm arranged the
first Eurobond (issued by Italian motorway group Autostrada) in the 1960s. Some
say that the Eurobond issue in 1963 was the single most important transaction
in its history.
Since
its founding in 1930, Allen & Overy has grown to become one of the largest
law firms in the world, both by number of lawyers and revenue. With
approximately over 5,000 staff including over 525 partners in 46 offices
worldwide, the firm provides legal advice in Europe, the Americas, Asia,
Australia, Africa and the Middle East.
A&O
took advantage of the increasingly global nature of finance, working on early
syndicated loan and Eurobond transactions and doing business far from its home
base in London. Legend has it that one globetrotting A&O partner offered an
ailing seatmate some stomach medicine on a flight from the Middle East to
London-the man turned out to be a UBS senior executive who was interested in
Eurobond deals, and thus UBS became an A&O client. By the mid-1990s the
firm earned more revenue from its non-U.K. clients than its domestic clients.
Today
A&O has offices and partners in 32 countries, and it has a network of
associate firms that enable it to do business in 100 more nations. Among the
sectors it serves are energy and natural resources, financial services, real
estate, life sciences, insurance, hotels and leisure and communications, media
and technology. And while the firm has a strong U.S.-based practice, the group
border hops: A&O staffs U.S.-qualified attorneys in the U.S., the U.K.,
continental Europe and Asia-the better to serve multinational clients. Allen
& Overy has an extensive global pro bono and community affairs programme,
which in 2011, undertook 44,945 hours of pro bono and CSR work, with a value of
over GBP15 million.
In
2009 A&O launched the Smart Start Experience – the largest programme
undertaken in the UK by a law firm to broaden access to top professions for
young people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The scheme was praised in
the UK Government's report on Fair Access to the Profession s, and was profiled
widely on BBC News and BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight programme. In 2010 the
scheme won a prestigious Lord Mayor's Dragon Award, which celebrates community
investment in London.
Allen
& Overy held a three-year relationship with the Red Cross, during that time
A&O contributed to the development of a new Model Law on disaster relief as
well as raised and donated over £600,000 for the Red Cross's work around the
world. Allen & Overy has a global charity partnership with Afrikids which
was formally launched in May 2012.
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