2022 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Allen & Overy LLP

Allen & Overy—a historically prestigious law firm in the U.K. and a pillar of the vaunted Magic Circle—has grown into one of the largest firms in the world in terms of revenue. From six U.S. locations—Boston; Los Angeles; New York; San Francisco; Silicon Valley; and Washington, DC—and with approximately 300 U.S.-based attorneys—the firm continues to make its imprint on the American map.

Royally Big

Founders George Allen and Thomas Overy left a firm called Roney & Co. to open shop in London in 1930. It was George Allen’s representation of King Edward VIII during his 1936 abdication to marry American Wallis Simpson that really made the firm’s name (at the time, no scandal was bigger). In the decades that followed, A&O became one of London’s most prominent legal shops. 

Today, A&O has offices and partners in more than 30 countries, and it has a network of associate firms that enable it to do business in over 120 more nations. With around 600 partners and close to 3,000 lawyers, A&O is one of the largest law firms in the world. A&O has a strong U.S.-based practice and also staffs more than 400 U.S.-qualified attorneys in the U.S., the U.K., continental Europe, and Asia—the better to serve multinational clients.

Worldwide Transactions

As one would expect from a megafirm, A&O counsels in a wide variety of areas, from banking and litigation to corporate and M&A to financial services regulation and regulatory compliance to securitization and tax—and everything in between. Given its international reach, it is no surprise that A&O is skilled in cross-border disputes—the firm is a regular among the top 20 in Vault’s International Practice Area ranking. The firm’s reach is particularly useful for its litigation practice, which counsels global clients in international arbitration, finance litigation, regulatory investigations, white collar matters—and much more.

Of course, you can’t talk about A&O without mention of its booming transactional practice. The firm has more than 1,000 lawyers specializing in banking and finance around the globe, making it one of the largest Banking and Finance departments of any law firm. The firm reaches across practice areas—including projects, leveraged finance, derivatives, regulatory, and restructuring—to deliver innovative financial counsel. It’s no wonder the firm is among the top 25 in Vault’s Banking & Finance ranking. 

On the M&A front, the firm advised on more than 240 global M&A deals in 2020 alone. Among its recent matters are advising 21st Century Fox in its acquisition by the Walt Disney Company, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank in its three-way merger Union National Bank PJSC and Al Hilal Bank, and Tesco on the sale of the entire interest in its businesses in Thailand and Malaysia. 

The Right Direction

Allen & Overy has ditched annual performance reviews and replaced them with Compass, an innovative approach to performance and development that incorporates ongoing feedback rather than one yearly assessment. Associates receive real-time feedback via career conversations with partners. And the firm hosts a Compass app that allows attorneys to give and receive feedback at any time. Feedback isn’t limited to associates, however. The firm offers a reverse mentoring program through which associates act as mentors to A&O’s Global Board members and senior leadership.

• Allen & Overy was appointed legal adviser for a implementation of French state-guaranteed participating loan scheme to address the economic consequences of COVID-19 in France.
• Allen & Overy advised Apollo Global Management on the USD824m convertible equity portfolio financing with NextEra Energy Partners for a 2.5 GW renewable energy portfolio, which consists of 13 utility-scale wind and solar assets and approximately 115 MW of integrated battery storage, all of which span the U.S. power market.
• Allen & Overy has advised Christie’s, the world-leading art and luxury business, on the sale of its Christie’s International Real Estate business to real estate brokerage and technology firm @properties.
• Allen & Overy advised the senior lenders (including IFC, EBRD, JBIC, UKEF, Bpifrance, EXIAR, Finnvera, Mizuho, HSBC, and ING) on the $5 billion project financing of a constellation of 882 global satellites and associated infrastructure as well as ground facilities for internet broadband provider, OneWeb.

• 52 U.S.-based lawyers and 21 A&O U.S. practice areas recognized in Chambers and Partners’ annual survey, 2022—Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
• Global Legal Advisor of the Year, 2022—IJGlobal 
• Cross Border Deal of the Year: Large (Size: 1 billion+), 2021—Americas M&A Atlas Awards
• Structured Finance Deal of the Year, 2021 and LatAm and Private Equity Deal of the Year, 2021—LatinFinance Deals of the Year Awards
• Best Places To Work, 2022—Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index