Stephen Hopkins is recognized as one of the top 50 innovators in law. He joined Eversheds Sutherland in 1988 specializing in restructuring, banking and more recently private equity and corporate work. In 2007 he was appointed as the client partner for the ground breaking Tyco relationship, which following a merger now covers the Johnson Controls International businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Under the latest contract, legal advice given by Eversheds Sutherland is subject to capped fees on every matter anywhere in Europe, the Middle East or Africa and advice cannot exceed a single page otherwise no payment is due. The process assisted Tyco in reducing its external spend from over $5m to less than $1m in 8 years.

With experience of managing extensive international relationships, Stephen was appointed Head of International for Eversheds Sutherland in 2009 overseeing its development phase from a nascent international business into a global player. Stephen is now heading Eversheds Sutherland’s commitment to the delivery of quality services across multiple jurisdictions. The collation, analysis and use of global management information on legal spend is unique to Eversheds Sutherland. This approach has been adopted by many of the firm’s clients helping them to control and predict their external spend.