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Fieldfisher LLP
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
No. of offices26[1]
No. of lawyersApprox. 1,200[2]
No. of employeesApprox. 1,800[3]
Major practice areasGeneral practice
Key peopleRobert Shooter (Managing Partner)
David Wilkinson
(Senior Partner)
Revenue£290 million (2020/21)[4]
Profit per equity partner£860,000 (2019/20)[4]
Date founded1835 (Field Roscoe & Co.)
1865 (Waterhouse & Co.)
1969 (merger of Field Roscoe and TF Peacock Fisher)
1989 (merger of Field Fisher Martineau and Waterhouse & Co.)
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitewww.fieldfisher.com

Fieldfisher LLP is a multinational law firm headquartered in London. The firm has 26 offices located in countries around the world.[5] It advises national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.

History

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Origins to 2000

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The origins of Fieldfisher can be traced back to the founding of the law firm Field Roscoe & Co. by Edwin Wilkins Field[6] in 1835.[citation needed] In 1865, Theodore Waterhouse founded Waterhouse & Co. In 1897, Charles Fisher started his articles with Thomas Peacock, which later became TF Peacock Fisher.[citation needed] In 1930, Field Roscoe merged with Treherne Higgins. In 1969, Field Roscoe and TF Peacock Fisher merged to form Field Fisher & Co.

In 1972, Field Fisher & Co. merged with Martineau and Reid to become Field Fisher Martineau. Field Fisher Waterhouse was created in 1989 by the merger of Field Fisher Martineau and Waterhouse & Co.[7][8]

In 1998, Field Fisher Waterhouse merged with media and communications firm Allison & Humphreys to complement its IT and internet expertise.[9] The BBC was one of the key clients that A&H lawyers brought to the firm.[10]

2000 to present

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Fieldfisher's head office at Swan Lane in London (building in the background)

In June 2006, Field Fisher Waterhouse converted to LLP status. In 2007, the firm took its first steps into Europe; in April offices were established in Brussels and Hamburg,[11][12] and in November an office in Paris was opened.[13] The firm subsequently opened additional German offices in Munich and Düsseldorf.[14]

In September 2012, the firm opened its first US office in Palo Alto, California.[15] On 1 April 2014, the firm merged with the Manchester-based law firm Heatons.[16][17]

In May 2014 the firm was renamed Fieldfisher.[18]

Between 2015 and 2016 Field Fisher represented BES Utilities and its owner Andrew Pilley in a number of actions including threatening libel proceedings against former customers, employees and Trading Standards' prosecuting authority Cheshire West and Chester Council. After the wholesale failure of the claim,[19] Pilley was found guilty on 4 accounts of fraud and sentenced to 13 years imprisonment.[20] Shortly after, Partner Bill Lister was dismissed from Field Fisher.[21]

In July 2016 Fieldfisher merged with the Italian law firm Studio Associato Servizi Professionali Integrati, which had offices in Milan, Rome, Venice and Turin.[22] SASPI changed its name to Fieldfisher upon completion of the merger.[22][3]

In November 2016, Fieldfisher merged with the Birmingham-based commercial law firm Hill Hofstetter.[23][24] The same month, Fieldfisher merged with the Beijing-based law firm JS Partners.[25][26]

In May 2017, Fieldfisher launched an Amsterdam office[27] and in 2018 it opened in Frankfurt, Luxembourg and Belfast.

Fieldfisher merged with Spanish firm JAUSAS in September 2018, to add Madrid and Barcelona to its network of offices and form Fieldfisher JAUSAS.[28] In November 2021, the firm's Spanish office dropped JAUSAS to become Fieldfisher Spain.[29]

In May 2019, it was announced the firm had merged with Irish law firm McDowell Purcell, effective 1 May 2019.[30][31]

In February 2022, Fieldfisher announced the opening of a new office in Berlin to house its new mass litigation and operations business, Fieldfisher X.[32][33]

The firm's Chinese, Italian, Netherlands and Spanish operations are structured as Swiss Vereins.

Alternative Legal Services

Fieldfisher operates a number of Alternative Legal Services (ALS) operations under a variety of sub-brands.[34]

In January 2017, Fieldfisher launched CondorALS, a platform specialising in document negotiation and contract management with a regulatory focus, particularly in the financial services sector.[35][36] In October 2017, CondorALS was named the winner of the FT Innovative Lawyers Award for 'New Business and Service Delivery Models'.[37] In March 2018, CondorALS was expanded through the formation of a new partnership with Integreon, a global alternative legal services provider.[38]

In November 2017, Fieldfisher announced a strategic partnership with Donaldson Legal Consulting in Belfast, to provide financial trading documentation, negotiation and associated services to financial institutions, corporations and asset managers.[39][40][41] DLC was incorporated into a new limited liability partnership, Donaldson Legal Consulting LLP, led by Alison Donaldson as managing partner.

In January 2018, Fieldfisher set up subsidiary law firm, Roscoe Reid, a B2C law firm focusing on group litigation.[42] Roscoe Reid is pursuing equal pay claims against large UK retailers, including Morrisons and Boots.[43] In September 2021, Roscoe Reid obtained a decision at Leeds Employment Tribunal that more than 2,300 of Morrisons' retail workers who are mostly women can rely on the supermarket's distribution centre workers as comparators in their claims for equal pay.[44]

References

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  1. ^ "Locations". Fieldfisher. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  2. ^ "About us". Fieldfisher. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Fieldfisher merges with Italian firm". Legal Week. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b "UK Top 50 Full Results: PEP Hits a Wall As Uncertainty Lingers". Legal Week. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Our Locations". Fieldfisher.
  6. ^ "Culture and Benefits". Fieldfisher. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  7. ^ "Field Fisher Waterhouse". Legal Week. 13 December 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  8. ^ "Field Fisher to drop Waterhouse name in rebrand". Law.com International. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  9. ^ Lawyer, The (1997-11-18). "Field Fisher takes over Allison & Humphreys". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  10. ^ "Field Fisher takes over Allison Humphreys". Legal Week. 18 November 1997. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Field Fisher continues Euro push with Brussels corporate recruit". Legal Week. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  12. ^ "Field Fisher Hamburg partner duo quit to launch new business". Legal Week. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  13. ^ "FFW splits ally Dubarry to open in Paris". The Lawyer. 31 October 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  14. ^ "FFW snares Howrey team for launches in Munich and Dusseldorf". Legal Week. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  15. ^ "Field Fisher opens US base in Palo Alto in Stateside client push". Legal Week. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Field Fisher Waterhouse to merge with Heatons". Law Gazette. 7 February 2014. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  17. ^ "Cost cutting and near-shoring - Field Fisher Waterhouse ties up with Manchester's Heatons". Legal Business. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  18. ^ "Field Fisher to drop Waterhouse name in rebrand". Legal Week. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  19. ^ "Bes Commercial Electricity Limited & Ors. V Cheshire West and Chester Council - Find case law".
  20. ^ "Fleetwood Town insist it's business as usual after owner Andy Pilley is jailed for 13 years for fraud | Blackpool Gazette".
  21. ^ "Bill Lister".
  22. ^ a b "Italian Job: Fieldfisher merges with Milan headquartered firm SASPI". Legal Business. 21 June 2016. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  23. ^ "Fieldfisher to absorb commercial law firm". Law Gazette. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  24. ^ "Fieldfisher merges with Reed Smith spin-off for Birmingham launch". Legal Week. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  25. ^ "Fieldfisher seals merger with Beijing law firm". Legal Week. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  26. ^ "Fieldfisher latest to boost Chinese presence with JS Partners tie–up". Legal Week. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  27. ^ Moloney, Rachel (2017-02-21). "Fieldfisher expands in Europe with Amsterdam launch". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  28. ^ "Jausas se integra en Fieldfisher". EXPANSION (in Spanish). 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  29. ^ "Fieldfisher elimina a Jausas de su nombre". EXPANSION (in Spanish). 2021-11-01. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  30. ^ "McDowell Purcell to merge with European law firm Fieldfisher". Irish Legal News. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  31. ^ "Another big-name legal firm enters Irish market". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  32. ^ "Fieldfisher Launches Mass Litigation and Legal Tech Unit in Germany". Law.com International. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  33. ^ "Fieldfisher adds Berlin base to launch litigation legaltech unit amid rise in German mass litigations". www.globallegalpost.com. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  34. ^ "Big Four primed for new audit rules to speed legal push". Financial Times. 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  35. ^ "Condor ALS (Fieldfisher), Law Firm LPO | Chambers ALSP Profile". chambers.com. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  36. ^ "Fieldfisher Records Third Successive Year of Double-Digit Revenue Growth". Law.com International. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  37. ^ "Condor Alternative Legal Solutions wins at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards". Fieldfisher. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  38. ^ "Fieldfisher expands its innovative Condor Alternative Legal Solutions platform with a new partnership with Integreon". Fieldfisher. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  39. ^ "Fieldfisher joins city's growing legal sector, bringing 125 jobs". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  40. ^ McDonald, Gary (2019-10-22). "International law firm Fieldfisher expands its Belfast operation". The Irish News. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  41. ^ Belfast, Love (2017-11-02). "DONALDSON LEGAL CONSULTING FORMS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM FIELDFISHER". LoveBelfast. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  42. ^ "Disputes round-up: Burford launches insurance business". Legal Business. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  43. ^ "Equal Pay – Roscoe Reid". Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  44. ^ "Morrisons supermarket workers win key legal battle in equal pay fight - Retail Gazette". www.retailgazette.co.uk. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
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