JORDAN – Eversheds secures fixed-fee deal with IATA

EVERSHEDS has secured a three-year fixed fee contract with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Africa and the Middle East. The deal will see Eversheds instructed on a fixed-fee basis for each matter with 15 per cent of the fees retained by the client and paid at the discretion of IATA on a performance-related basis. 

The deal will be reviewed after the first year using the intelligence gathered to establish whether the contract can continue on an annual fixed fee rate. The IATA dedicated team will be led by head of global client development Stephen Hopkins. He said, “There will be a full budgeting and approval process before each matter commences and there will be a 15 per cent withholding on each matter but every six months the overall performance is reviewed and at that stage a performance-related percentage will be paid.” 

IATA will evaluate the quality, cost, predictability, efficiency and legal expertise of the firm when deciding whether to pay the discretionary percentage of fees. 

Hopkins will work alongside Paris-based Africa group head Boris Martor and principal associate Hani Kurdi, who was formerly in-house at Royal Jordanian airlines and recently joined the firm’s Jordan office. A small team led by Martor in Paris will coordinate work in Africa while Kurdi’s Jordanian team will coordinate the Middle East.