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Who are Stephenson Harwood?

Stephenson Harwood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

With two hundred years of history Stephenson Harwood is one of the most renowned litigation specialists in the world.

Based in London, United Kingdom, Stephenson Harwood is a law firm with a rich history dating back to the middle of the 19th century. Today it is one of the largest law firms in the world with a growing practice specialising in dispute resolution with an expanding reputation in cyber security. 

It was in 1875 when attorney William Harwood returned to London from China and, alongside Henry Stephenson created the firm Harwood & Stephenson. However, their history goes back even further to 1828 and the city law firm Tatham & Lousada which merged with Stephenson Harwood in 1920. It would be named Stephenson Harwood & Tatham for the next half a century before dropping the Tatham in 1977. 

Just two years later it became one of the first UK firms to enter the Asian market and has been in Hong Kong ever since. 

The firm has been involved in a number of high-profile cases, none more so than in 1979 when it was instrumental in negotiating the release of American hostages. Acting for a leading Iranian financial institution, Bank Markazi, they became de facto mediators between Iran and America. Ste

At the time foreign assets for Iran had been frozen including those of Bank Markazi. The freeze was a major factor in the delay of their release. Stephenson Harwood played an important role in unfreezing these assets earning it praise from US Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance.

Other notable cases include their work with Lion Air in 2011 when it purchased 230 model 747 aircraft from Boeing worth US$21.7 billion. 

Today it has more than 1,100 employees worldwide and more than 180 partners specialising in litigation, mid-tier corporate work and shipping.

 


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