• Has dedicated private client and private wealth teams, as well as the more common City law firm practice areas, offering greater variety than a number of other City firms. 
• A focus on five core areas of decarbonisation, life sciences, private capital and funds, transportation and trade, and technology, indicates the firm’s reputation for practicing cutting edge areas of law.
• Recognised as a market-leading law firm in shipping finance, asset finance, and shipping litigation, indicating both legal skill and sector expertise across key elements of international transport.
• Strong commitment to corporate social responsibility, as demonstrated by its partnership with Not Beyond Redemption, the Royal Courts of Justice Advice Bureau and LawWorks. 
• Emphasis on innovation as demonstrated by its Process Improvement and Legal Project Management teams.

We cover these selling points in more detail below, alongside other relevant firm facts and characteristics.

Practice areas / services

Stephenson Harwood is a full-service law firm, with a broad range of practice areas including:

• Commercial, Outsourcing and Technology
• Competition
• Corporate
• Data Protection and Information
• Dispute Resolution
• Employment, Pensions, Incentives, and Immigration
• Environment
• Finance
• Intellectual Property
• Marine and International Trade
• Private Client, Trusts, and Fiduciary Services
• Private Wealth
• Projects and Infrastructure
• Real Estate
• Regulation
• Restructuring and Insolvency
• Tax

Chambers and Partners, a leading analyst of the legal market, has awarded Stephenson Harwood its highest ‘Band 1’ ranking for the following departments:  Financial Services: Contentious Regulatory (Individuals), Fraud: Civil, Investment Funds: Closed-ended Listed Funds, Investment Funds: Private Equity: Secondaries and Transport: Rail: Franchising. See here for more information

Key sectors / industries

Stephenson Harwood services a broad range of industries, with some of its highest-value clients operating in the following sectors:

• Private Capital and funds 
• Transportation and trade 
• Shipping 

In addition, Stephenson Harwood services the following industries: Decarbonisation, Life Sciences, Technology, Art and Cultural Property, Banks and Banking, Construction and engineering, Consumer, Energy and natural resources, Family offices, Government and public sector, Healthcare, Hotels and leisure, Insurance, International trade, Pensions, Private wealth, Professional services, Real estate and Sport. 

Work

Stephenson Harwood is consistently involved in high-profile work. Examples of projects include: 

• Accor: The firm advised Accor, the French multinational hospitality company, in connection with the set-up of a strategic partnership with LVMH to accelerate the development of the Orient Express brand. 
• M&C Saatchi: Stephenson Harwood advised M&C Saatchi on the sale of its entire interest in M&C Saatchi Holdings Asia Pte Ltd and PT MCS Saatchi Indonesia to Anish Daryani, its former joint venture partner in Indonesia. 
• Societe Generale: The firm advised Societe Generale on $35.9 million financing of a newly built LNG bunker supply vessel. 

Older examples

• Circa Group: The firm advised the private equity-backed business on its acquisition of Momentum Healthware, a healthcare technology specialist in Canada.
• HSBC: Stephenson Harwood represented HSBC in its first shipping sustainability and transition-linked financing, which it provided to Stem Shipping Co S.A. 
• BGF: The firm advised BGF in relation to its multi-million pound investment in specialist data and analytics recruitment business Harnham Group. 

Offices / global footprint / expansion

Headquarters: London, 1 Finsbury Circus

Offices: Stephenson Harwood has a total of 8 offices located around the world, together with another 3 associate offices. Examples of the firm’s locations include Dubai, Paris, Piraeus, and Shanghai. 

Insights, internships and other opportunities

Stephenson Harwood offers several opportunities for students to gain an insight into working life at the firm. Running both virtual and in-person Open Days (that latter of which are held at the firm’s London office), Stephenson Harwood enables attendees to gain an exclusive insight into life at the firm through conversations with current employees, as well as information on the training contact. For more formal experience, Stephenson Harwood runs Placement Schemes in Winter, Spring, and Summer. During these programmes, attendees get involved in real work, as well interactive sessions, talks, and even social events. 

Training contract

Stephenson Harwood offers a four-seat training contract, with each seat lasting six months. The firm offers ~25 training contracts each year, during which each trainee will experience a unique programme tailored to their individual needs. Alongside regular mentoring sessions to identify strengths and weaknesses, trainees can expect to be challenged with work aimed at facilitating their career development. 

Secondments

Stephenson Harwood offers its trainees the opportunity to apply for a placement either with a client or in one of the firm’s offices abroad. Previous secondment locations enjoyed by trainees include Hong Kong, Singapore, and Seoul. 

Stephenson Harwood is passionate about using its lawyers’ expertise to provide “free legal advice, research or representation for social, community, humanitarian or environmental causes”. Pro bono work carried out by the firm includes:  

• Royal Courts of Justice Advice Bureau: The firm’s London litigation team works with the Royal Courts of Justice Advice Bureau to offer free legal advice to those who cannot afford a solicitor. 
• Not Beyond Redemption: Stephenson Harwood has partnered with Not Beyond Redemption to run legal clinics for women serving sentences at HMP Downview who are experiencing contact issues with their children. 
• LawWorks: The firm is partnered with LawWorks, a business-to-business membership organisation which supports pro bono work across England & Wales.

Diversity and inclusion

Stephenson Harwood’s vision is “to be known as an inclusive and diverse firm”. To this end, the firm has introduced a number of D&I initiatives to ensure everyone feels they “can be themselves and thrive at work”, with examples including: 

• Black Future Talent Programme: The firm, along with Aspiring Solicitors, launched a Future Talent programme for Black students. It focuses on increasing the number of Black trainees attracted to, and recruited by, the firm. It provides mentors, skills development workshops, placement opportunities and a potential assessment centre place. 
• Employee Networks: The firm has a number of employee networks which are aimed at creating a sense of belonging within the firm. The networks include Enable (disability and neurodiversity), Gender equality, Mental health and wellbeing, Shout (LGBT+), Social Mobility, SHARED (Stephenson Hardwood Advancing Racial and Ethnic Diversity), Muslim and Jewish. 
• Accelerate Programme: Stephenson Harwood developed its Accelerate Programme to help junior partners with people management skills and business development know-how so they can progress faster to equity partnership.