Our History
Allen & Overy was founded in the City of London on 1st January 1930 by George Allen and Thomas Overy. The firm was principally a commercial practice, but our reputation was cemented as a result of George Allen’s role as advisor to King Edward VIII during the abdication crisis of 1936. The founding partners set standards of commercialism, professionalism, pragmatism and innovation which helped to create the character of Allen & Overy that continue to this day.
Over the years we have helped shape many of the ground-breaking developments in the legal sector. We advised on the first ever hostile takeover in the City of London, drafted the first ever Eurobond in the 1960s and have taken the lead on creating many innovative structures in all core areas of our practice.
We were international from the outset, advising, for example, Canadian banks and companies. We opened our first international office in 1978 in Dubai.
In the last 15 years Allen & Overy has become a truly international practice, opening offices in all key international financial and commercial centres and branching out into emerging markets.
We also have a strong US law practice and have seen sustained growth in our New York office since its opening. We have US qualified lawyers across our international network which now numbers around 250.
In 2008 the firm reached two important milestones: our turnover broke the GBP1 billion mark and, for the first time, over fifty percent of our revenue was generated outside the UK, demonstrating the truly global nature of our work.
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Our Values
We have six values at Allen & Overy that we share across our worldwide network;
- Excellence in everyone and everything,
- Dedication to our clients,
- Helping our people to achieve their potential,
- Respecting and including every individual,
- Working together as one firm,
- Entrepreneurial spirit and energy.
By clearly stating these, we aim to reinforce what makes us successful, to discourage those things that hinder our progress, and to make a clear statement about our identity. Values only make a difference if they are shared, believed in and practised. Our challenge is to uphold our values in everything we do - they are there to guide us in the way we work, in the decisions we make and in the way we interact with people.
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Our Offices
With over 5,000 people in 36 major centres worldwide, over half of our employees are based outside of the UK. It is important for us to have, and continue to grow, a broad international network of offices around the world. At the same time, it is important for us to build deep, well informed and well-connected local law practices in those locations, which allow us to assist global and national clients alike. In London we moved to a new office at Bishops Square in 2006. The move represented an investment in our future and was an opportunity to provide a state-of-the-art environment for our people to work in. The building was designed to provide the best facilities for staff, and houses a gym, health and well-being centre, staff bar and restaurant, 300-seat auditorium, as well as two green roof terraces where staff can relax and enjoy BBQs and games in the Summer. The views of the City and surrounding areas of Spitalfields, Brick Lane and beyond to the Dome and Canary Wharf are spectacular. Another roof terrace houses solar panels which provide power for the building and helps to reduce the building's carbon footprint.
On 8th February Allen & Overy announced the launch of our Australian practice with the appointment of 17 new partners, 14 based in Sydney and three in Perth, significantly bolstering our capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region.
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Our Innovation
Allen & Overy came third overall in the Financial Times (FT) Innovative Lawyers Report 2009 – putting us in the top three every year since it was first issued in 2007.
We had the joint highest number of entries praised as 'standout' in the report, receiving the accolade for four key categories – handling the financial crisis and the downturn, dispute resolution, financial services and resourcing.
The report, which this year focused solely on the legal industry's reaction to the financial crisis, also gave Allen & Overy the second highest score for management commitment and value of innovation in a law firm.
In 2008, Allen & Overy came second overall and won the award for Legal Expertise for the Schefenacker restructuring.
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We have expertises in the following areas:
Antitrust and EU >
Employment Benefits >
Energy and Infrastructure >
Environment and Climate Change >
Finance >
Industry Sectors >
Insurance >
Intellectual Property >
Litigation and Dispute Resolution >
M&A and Corporate >
Real Estate >
Regulatory >
Restructuring and Insolvency >
Tax >
U.S. Law >
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