Eversheds’ consultancy arm, Eversheds Consulting, has pushed forward plans to launch in Ireland after losing a client pitch to an EU-headquartered firm.
The German client, described only as a “diversified industrial manufacturer”, told Eversheds Consulting other rival firms won the work because they had a presence in the EU.
Plans to launch Eversheds Consulting in Ireland have been underway for some time in a bid to do more financial services work. The consulting business has already worked on projects in Ireland for clients such as Allied Bank without having a base there.
Eversheds Consulting accelerated the launch following feedback from the German client. It is now planning to open the office in September. Partner Pamela O’Neill will head up the practice, which will launch with a small number of lawyers.
Eversheds Consulting head Graham Richardson said: “People see us as a UK consulting practice predominantly but if we have a consulting practice flourishing in Ireland, which will be in the EU, then it can’t be a bad thing.”
Last year Eversheds Consulting expanded into Asia through the firm’s flexible lawyer service Eversheds Agile. The service was initially rolled out in Hong Kong and Singapore with between 20 and 30 lawyers. Agile was initially launched in 2011 and provides lawyers to in-house legal teams.
The firm’s consulting practice also includes Ignite, which is designed to allow in-house teams to outsource high volume, low risk work to Eversheds.