金杜律师事务所中国部分和安睿顺德伦律师事务所国际部分宣布启动正式合作协议，双方将在特定市场展开排他性推介合作。
根据协议条款，未来金杜中国将把所有需要英国、欧洲、中东、非洲和南美法律服务的案件推介给安睿顺德伦国际。此外，安睿顺德伦国际将把需要中国法律服务的客户推介给金杜中国。
在尊重客户偏好和排除利冲的情况下，两家律师事务所将在排他性的基础上推介客户。
两家律所曾在许多重大客户案件上密切合作，此举将满足金杜中国需要英国、欧洲和中东地区法律服务的客户，以及安睿顺德伦国际需要中国法律服务的客户日益多样化和复杂化的法律需求。
基于协议，金杜中国将于2024年10月31日之前停止在英国、欧洲和中东地区的运营。金杜在这些司法管辖区的合伙人和员工将受邀加入安睿顺德伦国际各办公室，此安排取决于业务需求和其他考量。
此举将对金杜多家办公室的员工产生影响，包括伦敦（现有11位律师）、布鲁塞尔（1位律师）、法兰克福（18位律师）、米兰（2位律师）、马德里（19位律师），以及迪拜（3位律师）办公室。
金杜全球主席和金杜中国创始合伙人王俊峰表示：“我们的客户对国际法律服务的需求日益增长和多样化，安睿顺德伦国际拥有广泛的全球网络，是我们客户的理想选择。”
安睿顺德伦目前有3000多名律师，在非洲、亚洲、欧洲、中东和美国30多个国家设有70多个办公室。
安睿顺德伦国际首席执行官Lee Ranson则表示：“我们在中国的客户对中国法律服务的需求日益复杂，这一新安排将创造一个能提供最优质的解决方案的平台，并进一步增强我们在欧洲和中东地区的业务实力。”
KWM China signs exclusive client referral deal with Eversheds Sutherland
King & Wood Mallesons China and Eversheds Sutherland said jointly on Thursday that they have entered a formal agreement to refer work to one another exclusively in key markets, with Eversheds gaining access to mainland China and KWM China ceasing operations in Europe and East Asia.
Under the terms of the alliance, Eversheds Sutherland will be required to refer clients that need legal advice in China to KWM’s China branch.
KWM China will, in turn, refer all clients requiring legal advice in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America to Eversheds Sutherland.
As a result of the arrangements, KWM China will wind down its offices in the UK, Europe and Middle East by October 31, 2024, with its lawyers and staff expected to be “invited to join” Eversheds Sutherland’s offices in those regions, subject to practice needs and other considerations.
According to KWM’s website, the decision would impact the firm’s current staff in offices in the UK (11 lawyers in London), Germany (18 lawyers in Frankfurt), Spain (19 lawyers in Madrid), Italy (2 lawyers in Milan), Belgium (1 lawyer in Brussels), and the UAE (3 lawyers in Dubai).
The alliance will not affect the operations of Eversheds Sutherland’s office in the U.S., and China.
Eversheds Sutherland’s clients have “increasingly complex needs for PRC legal advice in China and this new arrangement creates the platform to deliver a solution of the very highest calibre as well adding strength to our European and Middle East businesses,” Eversheds’ Chief Executive Lee Ranson said in a statement.
“Demand for international legal services has increased and diversified at pace, and Eversheds Sutherland (International) is an ideal fit for our clients with its extensive worldwide network,” KWM’s global chair Wang Junfeng said. Junfeng is also a founding partner of KWM China.
KWM previously established a European presence in 2013 through a merger with London-founded SJ Berwin. But the arrangement collapsed in 2017 following high-profile partner exits and the European entity’s failure to secure a bailout from KWM’s Asia arm.
Eversheds Sutherland now operates in over 70 offices in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, with more than 3,000 lawyers.
