Osborne Clarke was founded in Bristol, England, in 1748 by Jeremiah Osborne. In 1987 Osborne Clarke opened its first London office. Over the next decade the firm opened offices in Reading, Cologne, Munich and Silicon Valley. The law firm played a significant part in the development of the railways in the UK when it was appointed to represent the Great Western Railway Company, working closely with Isambard Kingdom Brunel on the establishment of the Great Western Main Line route from London Paddington to Bristol and the West Country. The nature of the relationship between Osborne Clarke and Brunel is best highlighted by one notable occasion when Jeremiah Osborne the Third is said to have personally rowed Brunel down the River Avon to survey the bank for the route of the Great Western Railway. The partnership's recent history has been characterised by two strands of development. Firstly, they have undertaken significant international expansion, particularly into the United States and Germany where they are now the 41st largest law firm. On 9 July 2012 the firm announced that two European firms, SLA Studio Legale Associato in Italy and Spanish firm Osborne Clarke Spain, had become part of Osborne Clarke. Secondly the firm has seen considerable expansion in the media and technology sectors, in which they are considered a tier 1 firm. Notable clients in this sector include Yahoo! and Facebook.
Key dates
1748 – Jeremiah Osborne starts practising law in Bristol.
1833 – Firm works closely with Isambard Kingdom Brunel on the building of the Great Western Railway. The firm remains the company’s solicitor for many years.
1969 – The modern firm is created by the merger of the Osborne and Clarke law firms.
1987 – Firm opens its London office – the first regional law firm to do so.
2019 – Relationship firm BTG Legal opens office in Delhi.
Structure
After expanding significantly through the dot-com bubble of the late nineties and early 2000s, the firm has undergone a comprehensive restructure. The firm retains a comprehensive range of departments, however Osborne Clarke is considered a first tier firm in both the Media and Entertainment and Brand Management sectors.
Management
International Council chairman Stefan Rizor has been re-elected for a second term. Simon Beswick has been confirmed to be Osborne Clarke international chief executive and the firm's head of markets internationally.
Key industry sectors
The firm has established a reputation for working in a number of sectors, but references the following list on their corporate website:
Osborne Clarke advised Babcock Marine on £1 billion defence contracts, including the £560 million extension of the Warship Support Modernisation Initiative.
