- McDermott Will & Emery
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McDermott Will & Emery LLP 
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois No. of offices 16 No. of attorneys 1088 No. of employees about 2,300 Major practice areas General practice Revenue 
$966 million USD(2008) [1]Date founded February 2, 1934 Founder Edward H. McDermott and
William M. EmeryCompany type Limited liability partnership Website www.mwe.com McDermott Will & Emery LLP, also known by its initials, MWE, was founded in 1934 and is an international law firm headquartered in Chicago. It is one of the top 10 largest law firms in the United States and one of the 20 largest in the world.[2] McDermott is a diversified business practice representing a wide range of commercial, industrial and financial enterprises, both publicly and privately held. The firm also houses the largest tax practice in the United States.
Contents
Size
Currently numbering nearly 1,100 lawyers with 580 partners, McDermott has sixteen offices across the United States and in Europe. McDermott currently advises more than 60% of the Fortune 100 and more than 50% of the Fortune 500 companies, and is one of the 20 largest law firms globally.[3] McDermott Will & Emery represents clients in 70 countries across 6 continents, with 45 different languages spoken.[4]
Practice areas
McDermott offers clients counsel in a variety of practice areas and industries, including: accounting, agriculture, architecture and engineering, broadcasting, commercial and investment banking, construction, consumer finance, distribution, financial services, food and beverage processing, healthcare, insurance, investment syndication, life sciences and biotechnology, manufacturing, media, mining, oil and gas, publishing, real estate, retailing, savings and loans, technology, telecommunications, utilities and venture capital.
McDermott's client base breakdown, from the firm's top 250 clients:[4]
- Public companies, including subsidiaries and divisions - 67%
- Privately owned businesses - 26.4%
- Nonprofit organizations - 5.2%
- Governmental entities - 1.4%
History
Founding the firm in 1934, Chicago lawyers Edward H. McDermott and William M. Emery initially specialized in tax law; a corporate department was established when Howard H. Will joined the firm in 1941. As the century progressed, the firm added capabilities across the legal spectrum, eventually opening eight more offices on both coasts. By 1984, the firm numbered 150 lawyers; over the ensuing 20 years, however, the firm underwent a significant growth spurt—by the firm's 70th anniversary in 2004, McDermott numbered over 1,000 lawyers.[5]
International experience
With a high profile on both sides of the Atlantic, McDermott has been involved in crossborder matters in virtually every sector of business. Matters of an international nature include cross-border mergers and acquisitions; joint ventures; financings; corporate restructuring and reorganisations; the structuring of distributorship, licensing and agency arrangements; the negotiation of commercial contracts; compliance with investment laws; privatisation; multi-national tax planning; international litigation and dispute resolution; environmental; real estate; banking; anti-competition; e-business and intellectual property.
Locations
McDermott currently has 16 offices in the United States and Europe. The number in parentheses indicates the year the office opened.
North America
- Chicago, Illinois (1934)
- Boston, Massachusetts (1981)
- Los Angeles, California (1987)
- Miami, Florida (1977)
- New York, New York (1988)
- Orange County, California (1987)
- San Diego, California (2003)
- Palo Alto, California (1997); relocated to Menlo Park, California in 2009
- Washington, D.C. (1978)
- Houston, Texas (2008)
Europe
- Brussels, Belgium (2004)
- Düsseldorf, Germany (2002)
- London, England (1998)
- Milan, Italy (2009)
- Munich, Germany (2002)
- Rome, Italy (2003)
- Paris, France (2011)
Asia/Pacific
Recognition and rankings
- Named as one of the top 15 defense litigation law firms in the United States by The National Law Journal on its annual Defense Hot List.[7]
- Ranked among the top 10 law firms singled out by corporate counsel as driving innovative changes in the legal services marketplace.[8]
- Recognized as one of the top 10 law firms representing the growing health care industry in the United States.[9]
- Recognized by The Chambers Global Guide for excellence in numerous practice areas, and several McDermott lawyers were ranked as leaders in their field.[10]
- The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) named McDermott Will & Emery as one of the record number of U.S. companies earning the top rating of 100 percent in its annual Corporate Equality Index.[11]
- For the third quarter of 2008, McDermott's mergermarket rankings included top 20 for number of U.S. buyouts, top 10 for number of U.S.-Midwest region deals and top 10 by value of deals in Swedish M&A. According to Mergerstat, McDermott ranked in the top 20 for U.S. announced deals, as well as ranked among the top for U.S. middle market advisors and U.S. private equity advisors based on both value and number of deals.[12][13]
Community service and Pro bono
McDermott Will & Emery engages in a number of pro bono efforts and states that it is committed to its communities. Through its pro bono and community service program, the firm serves disadvantaged communities and ensures that low-income individuals and families have access to justice. In 2008, the firm devoted more than 94,900 hours to pro bono matters and community service, and more than 70 percent of its lawyers provided pro bono legal services to the poor, to organizations that serve the indigent and to certain not-for-profit organizations and small businesses focused on serving low-income communities.[14]
References
- ^ http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?id=1202427137779
- ^ Company Snapshot: McDermott Will & Emery. Vault. 2007.
- ^ AmLaw Global 100, The American Lawyer, November 2006
- ^ a b 2006 Year in Review. McDermott Will & Emery.
- ^ McDermott Will & Emery - Firm History
- ^ MWE China Law Offices Opens in Shanghai
- ^ Defense Hot List, The National Law Journal. 2006.
- ^ BTI Market Movers: Law Firms Shaping the Legal Market BTI Consulting Group. 2006.
- ^ Analysis of lawsuits brought by or against the 250 largest publicly traded health care companies in 2005. Health Law360.
- ^ The Chambers Global Guide 2010
- ^ HRC 2009 Corporate Equality Index
- ^ Mergermarket league tables & profiles
- ^ Mergerstat
- ^ [1]
External links
Categories:- Law firms established in 1934
- Law firms based in Chicago, Illinois
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