Field Fisher Waterhouse

Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP is a full service European law firm with seven offices^[1], which is ranked 30th by turnover in The Lawyer ^[2], has over 150 partners, 220 other lawyers and nearly 300 support staff.

The firm's main areas of practice are corporate, IP, technology and regulatory law. The firm also has leading expertise in areas such as banking and finance, financial services, real estate, dispute resolution, personal injury and medical negligence.

The firm also provides specific experience across the following industry sectors: Hotels & Leisure, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Media & Entertainment, Retail, Technology & Telecoms, Sport and Public Sector.

Field Fisher Waterhouse was named TMT Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2011.

Field Fisher Waterhouse's international client base includes listed and unlisted companies, multinationals, banks and other financial institutions, professional partnerships, trade associations and Government departments. Known for its industry focus, the firm is acknowledged as a leading expert in the public sector, technology and media sectors.^[3].

History

The history of the firm can be traced back almost two centuries and the structure has changed significantly in that time. The main mergers, which created the firm in its current form, happened within living memory and many of the partners and staff who originally started with one of the legacy firms which went on to form Field Fisher Waterhouse, are still working for the firm.

In 1835 Edwin Field established the law firm Field Roscoe & Co. In 1865 Theodore Waterhouse founded Waterhouse & Co. In 1897 Charles Fisher started his articles with Thomas Peacock, which later became TF Peacock Fisher. In 1930 Field Roscoe merged with Treherne Higgins. In 1969 TF Peacock Fisher and Field Roscoe merged to form Field Fisher & Co. In 1972 Martineau and Reid mergeed with Field Fisher & Co to become Field Fisher Martineau. Field Fisher Waterhouse was created in 1989 following the merger of Waterhouse & Co and Field Fisher Martineau. Both firms moved from their original offices and came together to the Vine Street premises in June 1990.

Waterhouse & Co was originally located near St Paul's Cathedral and in 1971 there were just nine partners. At this time all law firms were fairly small as up until 1968 law firms were not permitted to have more than twenty partners.

Shell was a key client of Waterhouse & Co at the time and the firm worked on all Shell’s real estate deals, in particular its move to the Shell building in the 1950s. It was the firm’s relationship with Shell which led to the development of the Japanese desk following a recommendation by Shell to Mitsubishi Bank.

Field Fisher Martineau was located at Lincoln’s Inn House in Holborn, close to Red Lion Square, a very convenient location for the law courts. In 1990, the firm moved to Minories in Aldgate, which was not a particularly salubrious corner of EC3.

The last major addition to the firm took place in 1998 when Allison & Humphreys (A&H) merged with Field Fisher Waterhouse. Allison & Humphreys’ alumni included Moira Gilmour who became Managing partner in April 2006. A&H was a leading media and communications specialist and therefore complemented Field Fisher Waterhouse’s IT and internet expertise. The BBC was one of the key clients that A&H lawyers brought with them to the firm. In June 2006 Field Fisher Waterhouse converted to LLP status.

Corporate social responsibility

The firm’s CSR Programme is organised into four main workstreams: Pro bono; Charities; Environmental; Equality and Diversity and People Development.

All these workstreams are governed by the firm’s CSR Principles which are, to behave ethically, to contribute positively to the economic and natural environment and to improve the quality of life for our own staff, for the local community and for society at large.

Offices

Field Fisher Waterhouse currently has the following seven offices across Europe. ^[1]

References