Osborne Clarke Explained

Osborne Clarke
Headquarters:	London, England, UK^[1]
Num Offices:	25
Num Lawyers:	1220+
Num Employees:	Approx 2,440
Practice Areas:	Energy and utilities, Financial services, Life sciences and healthcare, Real estate and Infrastructure, Recruitment, Retail and consumer, Tech, Media and Comms, Transport and Automotive
Key People:	Conrad Davies (Managing Partner) Peter Clough (Senior Partner)^[2]
Date Founded:	1748
Company Type:	Swiss association^[3]
Homepage:	osborneclarke.com

Osborne Clarke is an international legal practice headquartered in London, England, UK with offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, China, India via BTG Legal, Singapore, the United States and Poland. The firm has over 320 partners and more than 2,440 employees spread across its 25 offices around the world. The firm's headquarters are located in London, United Kingdom.

The firm was involved in the development of the railways in Southern England through its historic relationship with Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the Great Western Railway.^[4]

History

Osborne Clarke was founded in Bristol, England, in 1748 by Jeremiah Osborne. In 1987 Osborne Clarke opened its first London office. Over the next decade the firm opened offices in Reading, Cologne, Munich and Silicon Valley.

The law firm played a significant part in the development of the railways in the UK when it was appointed to represent the Great Western Railway Company, working closely with Isambard Kingdom Brunel on the establishment of the Great Western Main Line route from London Paddington to Bristol and the West Country.^[5] The nature of the relationship between Osborne Clarke and Brunel is best highlighted by one notable occasion when Jeremiah Osborne the Third (grandson to the founder) is said to have personally rowed Brunel down the River Avon to survey the bank for the route of the Great Western Railway.^[6]

The partnership's recent history has been characterised by two strands of development. Firstly, they have undertaken significant international expansion, particularly into the United States and Germany where they are now the 41st largest law firm.^[7] On 9 July 2012 the firm announced that two European firms, SLA Studio Legale Associato in Italy and Spanish firm Osborne Clarke Spain, had become part of Osborne Clarke.^[8]

Secondly the firm has seen considerable expansion in the media and technology sectors, in which they are considered a tier 1 firm.^[9] Notable clients in this sector include Yahoo!, Facebook,^[10] Dell, PwC,^[11] Google,^[12] Pokémon Company^[13] and Tripadvisor.^[14]

The firm is constantly ranked high in various legal directories and rankings. In 2015 Osborne Clarke was named The Lawyer's firm of the year.^[15]

The firm is also known for its strong corporate culture. In 2019 the firm was awarded the Best Corporate Culture Award at the Managing Partners Forum (MAP) Awards.^[16]

Key dates

• 1748 – Jeremiah Osborne starts practising law in Bristol.
• 1833 – Firm works closely with Isambard Kingdom Brunel on the building of the Great Western Railway. The firm remains the company's solicitor for many years.
• 1969 – The modern firm is created by the merger of the Osborne and Clarke law firms.
• 1987 – Firm opens its London office – the first regional law firm to do so.^[17]
• 1998 – Opens Thames Valley office in Reading.
• 2000 – Opens Silicon Valley office in Palo Alto, California.^[18]
• 2001 – Opens office in Cologne, Germany.^[19]
• 2012 – Merges with Italian and Spanish firms, gaining offices in Milan, Rome, Padova, Brescia, Madrid and Barcelona.
• 2013 – Opens in Brussels,^[20] Paris^[21] and New York.^[22]
• 2014 – Opens in San Francisco,^[23] Amsterdam,^[24] Hong Kong.^[25] and Mumbai.^[26]
• 2016 – Opens in Singapore.^[27]
• 2017 – Opens in Mainland China,^[28] Sweden^[29] and Bangalore.^[30]
• 2019 – Relationship firm BTG Legal opens office in Delhi.^[31]

Structure

After expanding significantly through the dot-com bubble of the late nineties and early 2000s, the firm has undergone a comprehensive restructure. The firm retains a comprehensive range of departments, however Osborne Clarke is considered a first tier firm in both the Media and Entertainment and Brand Management sectors.

Management

International Council chairman Stefan Rizor has been re-elected for a second term. Omar Al-Nuaimi is the International CEO.^[32]

Key industry sectors

The firm has established a reputation for working in a number of sectors, but references the following list on their corporate website:

• Energy and Utilities
• Financial Services
• Life Sciences and Healthcare
• Real Estate and Infrastructure
• Workforce Solutions
• Retail and Consumer
• Tech, Media and Comms
• Transport and Automotive

Notable cases

• Osborne Clarke acted on behalf of Carphone Warehouse on the £2 billion demerger of its fixed line business TalkTalk.^{[33] [34]}
• Osborne Clarke advised London & Continental Railways and Eurostar International Limited on the development of St Pancras station, London as an international rail terminal.^[35]
• Osborne Clarke advised Babcock Marine on £1 billion defence contracts, including the £560 million extension of the Warship Support Modernisation Initiative.^{[36] [37]}
• Osborne Clarke advised Grand Central on its sale to Arriva.^[38]
• Osborne Clarke advised CBRE Global Investors on the £161.5m sale and leaseback of Park Plaza London Waterloo^[39]
• Osborne Clarke acted for the management team of Odeon & UCI Cinema Group in December 2016 on the £921m sale of Odeon & UCI by private equity firm Terra Firma.^[40]
• Osborne Clarke advised Grifols on a $6.3bn refinancing; the second largest refinancing of a Spanish company in history.^[41]

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Lawyer: Osborne Clarke moves HQ to London.
2. Web site: Osborne Clarke Elects Next UK Managing Partner .
3. Web site: Osborne Clarke - Verein.
4. Web site: Brunel 200 - Working With Visionaries.
5. Web site: Bristol Floating Harbour - Osborne Clarke's relationship with Isambard Kingdom Brunel. 28 October 2009 .
6. Web site: Clifton Rugby Football Club History.
7. Web site: Juve Handbook of German Law Firms. 9 June 2023 .
8. Web site: Osborne Clarke reveals teams charged with overseeing post-merger firm.
9. Web site: Legal Week - Osborne Clarke.
10. Web site: Legal 500 Overview of Osborne Clarke.
11. Web site: Osborne Clarke LLP - True Picture - Chambers Student Guide. 2021-03-11. www.chambersstudent.co.uk. en.
12. Web site: Osborne Clarke advises Google Ventures. 2021-03-11. Osborne Clarke. en-GB.
13. Web site: Environment. 2021-03-11. Osborne Clarke. en-GB.
14. Web site: Osborne Clarke LLP > London > England The Legal 500 law firm profiles. 2021-03-11. www.legal500.com.
15. Web site: Osborne Clarke – What The Lawyer Says. 2021-03-11. The Lawyer Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. 9 April 2018 . en.
16. Web site: Osborne Clarke takes home Best Corporate Culture Award at 2019 MPF Awards. 2021-03-11. Osborne Clarke. en-GB.
17. Web site: Chamber Student - The Osborne Identity.
18. Web site: The Lawyer - OWA pan-Euro group opens in Silicon Valley.
19. Web site: OC Dumps German Merger for mass lateral hiring. The Lawyer.
20. Web site: Osborne Clarke Press Release - Brussels office opening.
21. Web site: Osborne Clarke Press Release - Paris office opening.
22. Web site: Osborne Clarke opens in New York. Osborne Clarke.
23. Web site: We've opened for business in San Francisco. Osborne Clarke.
24. Web site: Osborne Clarke opens new office in Amsterdam. Osborne Clarke. Osborne Clarke website.
25. Web site: Osborne Clarke hires 2 Bird & Bird partners to launch HK office Asian Legal Business. www.legalbusinessonline.com. en. 2018-01-25.
26. News: Osborne Clarke's latest frontier: can it make India work? - The Lawyer Legal News and Jobs Advancing the business of law. 2014-11-03. The Lawyer Legal News and Jobs Advancing the business of law. 2018-01-25. en-GB.
27. News: Osborne Clarke website Osborne Clarke announces association with OC Queen Street. 2018-01-25. en-GB.
28. News: Osborne Clarke enters mainland China with new association. 2017-05-02. The Lawyer Legal News and Jobs Advancing the business of law. 2018-01-25. en-GB.
29. News: Osborne Clarke opens new office in Sweden through team hire. 2017-09-07. The Lawyer Legal News and Jobs Advancing the business of law. 2018-01-25. en-GB.
30. News: Osborne Clarke's Indian best friend targets tech work with office launch. 2018-02-07. The Lawyer Legal News and Jobs Advancing the business of law. 2018-02-09. en-GB.
31. Web site: Osborne Clarke relationship firm BTG Legal opens Delhi office with two Partners.
32. http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/2406644/osborne-clarkes-re-elects-international-chief-and-chairman Osborne Clarke re-elects international chief exec and chairman
33. Web site: Ashurst and Osborne Clarke lead on Carphone Warehouse demerger.
34. Web site: The Lawyer - Osborne Clarke leads on Carphone Warehouse demerger.
35. Web site: The Lawyer - Massive Regeneration Projects Dominate The Lawyer Awards.
36. Web site: This is Cornwall - Law firm takes advisory role on waste energy plant contract .
37. Web site: The Lawyer - Osborne Clarke Keeps Babcock Role On Devonport Extension.
38. News: Arriva in Grand Central Railway takeover. BBC News . 4 November 2011 .
39. News: Osborne Clarke website Osborne Clarke advises CBRE Global Investors on £161.5m sale and leaseback of Park Plaza London Waterloo. 2018-01-25. en-GB.
40. News: Osborne Clarke website Osborne Clarke advises management team of Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group in relation to its proposed sale to AMC Theatres. 2018-01-25. en-GB.
41. News: Osborne Clarke website Financial results 2017: Osborne Clarke reports 12% revenue increase. 2018-01-25. en-GB.