Eversheds bags sole Threadneedle role” />Eversheds has won another Tyco-style adviser role by becoming the main legal adviser to asset manager Threadneedle.
This is the fifth main provider contract that Eversheds has won in the last year, following deals with Akzo Nobel and Samsung.
Threadneedle general counsel Philip Reed said the company had been looking for a “creative and forward-looking” firm that would build and retain skill in-house.
The Threadneedle role came through Eversheds partner Mark Brady’s close relationship with the investment house, forged after he worked alongside it for more than six years on hedge fund issues.
Brady even worked as part-time acting general counsel for six months while continuing his practice at Eversheds. He took on the position as the management group looked for a new counsel after William Lowndes became head of US distributions.
“While I was there we discussed how Threadneedle could streamline its legal advice as there were too many informal relationships for any firm to get close enough to the business to give the best advice,” explained Brady. “At the time we were discussing how they could consolidate their firms, which didn’t necessarily mean one firm but just a smaller number. Of course, in the end they just opted for one.”
Eversheds became DuPont’s UK adviser in 1995, pioneering the one-firm approach to outside counsel. Eversheds then structured a similar deal with Tyco in 2006.
