Paine Stevens was founded by Benjamin Paine in September 2012, after 11 years working in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, in response to a perceived need for English law advice from international counsel who understand, and are based in, the region.

With the name Stevens he drew on the legal traditions of his kinsmen Edward Stevens (1853-1946), solicitor, and Percy Wansbrough Stevens (1861-1908), who practised as a barrister in Calcutta.