Eversheds has launched in
Switzerland after forming an association with local outfit Schmid in a move that adds further scale to the
UK giant’s expanding foreign network.
The association, which saw the Swiss practice rebranded as Schmid Eversheds on 1 January, 2008, will give Eversheds a base in Zurich and Berne, adding to the UK law firm’s network of 36 offices spanning 21 countries.
The six-partner office, which will be headed by name partner Peter Schmid, will join Eversheds International as a formal member, though the move will stop short of full financial and management integration with the top 10 UK law firm.
The association will cover a broad range of practice areas, including corporate, commercial, tax and dispute resolution. The two firms have worked together in the past and are believed to have worked alongside each other for major Eversheds clients such as Tyco.
Eversheds chairman Alan Jenkins told Legal Week: “Switzerland is a major source of, and destination for, foreign direct investment. It is vital that we are present in such regions where our clients want to do business. Schmid Eversheds has already met this need and, by linking up with them, we further demonstrate to clients our increased ability to serve their international requirements.”
Schmid said: “Established law firms in Switzerland are rarely part of a larger international firm and therefore our relationship with Eversheds gives us a distinct advantage in the local market.”
There are only a handful of sizeable international firms with a presence in Switzerland, a country attractive for its favourable tax regime and pull for foreign investment.
Charles Russell launched in Geneva in January 2006, expanding its international private client practice. Other notable law firms in the region include Baker & McKenzie, Hogan & Hartson, Withers, Sidley Austin and Collyer Bristow.
The move comes amid a period of substantial expansion for Eversheds’ international alliance, with the firm last year signing up three alliance members in the Baltic states.
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