- Duane Morris
-
Duane Morris LLP Headquarters Philadelphia, Pennsylvania No. of offices 24 No. of attorneys 594[1] Major practice areas Full Service Key people John Soroko (Chairman), Charles J. O'Donnell (COO) Date founded 1904 Founder Russell Duane, Roland S. Morris Company type Limited Liability Partnership Website duanemorris.com Duane Morris LLP is a law firm headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1904 as Duane, Morris, Heckscher & Roberts,[2] the firm has 24 offices in the United States, London, Singapore and Vietnam.[3] In addition to legal services, Duane Morris has independent affiliates employing approximately 100 professionals engaged in other disciplines.
Contents
Ranking and recognition
U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers in a 2010 survey of Best Law Firms ranked Duane Morris nationally as follows:[4]
- Tier One:
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Construction Law
- Insurance Law
- Tier Two:
- Admiralty & Maritime Law
- Banking and Finance Law
- Tax Law
- Tier Three:
- Corporate Law
- General Commercial Litigation
- Intellectual Property Law
In 2011, the Am Law 100 ranked Duane Morris as the 67th largest law firm in the U.S. based on gross revenue. [5]
In 2009, the National Law Journal ranked Duane Morris as the 72nd largest law firm in the U.S. based on October 2008 attorney headcount, which was stated to be 594.
In 2007, Duane Morris was named one of the 20 best companies for working women by Philadelphia Magazine[6] and one of the top 50 law firms for women by Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC, a national consulting firm focused on the retention and advancement of women.[7]
Growth
Under the ten-year leadership of Chairman Sheldon Bonovitz from early 1998 to early 2008, Duane Morris grew from a little more than 200 lawyers in 1998 to more than 650 by January 2008. Revenues increased over that period from $70 million to $375 million for 2007.[8] Bonovitz stepped down at the beginning of January 2008, replaced by former Vice Chairman John J. Soroko.
Harvard Business School completed a case study of the firm's growth entitled "Duane Morris: Balancing Growth and Culture at a Law Firm," which was presented in curriculum during the 2006-2007 academic year.[9][10]
Notable cases
- Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc.: Duane Morris represented the plaintiff Markman in a patent infringement lawsuit.[11] After winning a jury verdict, Markman lost the case in a subsequent directed verdict for the defendant Westview due to questions of patent claims construction. The decision to reverse the jury verdict was affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and later the U.S. Supreme Court. The result of this case is that so-called Markman hearings are now routinely conducted in patent infringement lawsuits so that a judge will rule on the legal meaning of patent claims before the lawsuit is argued before a jury.
- Tobacco Industry Litigation: Along with the Pittsburgh law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll, Duane Morris represented the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a 46-state class action lawsuit against the tobacco industry. The litigation concluded with a landmark $206 billion global settlement agreement for the 46 suing states.[12][13][14]
Contingency fee practice
Duane Morris claims that it is unique among large law firms by maintaining an active contingency fee practice.[15][16] Contingency fees contributed $15 to $20 million to the firm's gross revenue in 2009.[17]
This practice raised concerns in the press after Duane Morris twice teamed up with the plaintiff firm of Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins, which was founded by William Lerach, who was sentenced to prison for offering kickbacks to lead plaintiffs.[18][19]
Duane Morris represented on contingency, six of the nine whistleblowers in a case against Eli Lilly in which the nine were rewarded with $78 million from the federal criminal settlement after Eli Lilly was found guilty of illegally marketing the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa for off-label use.[20]
Industries Served
- Automotive
- Capital Markets
- Commercial Lending
- Construction
- Energy
- Financial Markets
- Financial Services
- Gaming
- Healthcare
- Information Technologies and Telecom
- Insurance and Reinsurance
- Manufacturing
- Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology
Notable alumni
- Barbara Adams, General Counsel of Pennsylvania
- Michael M. Baylson, a Federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- Roland Sletor Morris, former United States Ambassador to Japan, one of the founding partners of the firm
- Gene E. K. Pratter, federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- Marjorie Rendell, a Circuit judge in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- Mark Singel, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995. Joined the firm in 2000 after leaving public service and left to start his own firm in 2005.
References
- ^ American Law Journal, Annual survey of the nation's largest law firms as of October 2008
- ^ Past and Present, Duane Morris website
- ^ http://www.duanemorris.com/site/offices.html
- ^ US News and Best Lawyers 2010 survey results for Duane Morris
- ^ Am Law 100 Rankings
- ^ Duane Morris Website
- ^ Duane Morris press release, August 14, 2007
- ^ Sheldon Bonovitz Steps Down as Duane Morris Chairman, John Soroko Takes Over Law Firm Leadership January 4, 2008, The Legal Intelligencer
- ^ ABA Journal, Dec. 2006
- ^ Duane Morris Press Release, October 5, 2006
- ^ Duane Morris website
- ^ National Association of Attorneys General, Master Settlement Agreement, Page 174
- ^ PA Bulletin Volume 30
- ^ Duane Morris website
- ^ martindale.com Practice Areas & Industries: Duane Morris LLP
- ^ Economy drives alternative billing The New Lawyer, by Olivia Collings, May 26, 2009
- ^ Duane Morris Increases Revenue 5 Percent, PPP 4 Percent Gina Passarella, The Legal Intelligencer, March 26, 2010
- ^ Duane Morris' New Co-Counsel Is Raising Eyebrows, Susan Beck, The American Lawyer, December 13, 2007
- ^ Law Blog Trend Of the Day: Big Law’s Switch Hitting, The Wall Street Journal, Peter Lattman, December 13, 2007
- ^ Eli Lilly to Pay $1.42 Billion to Settle Zyprexa Marketing Suits
External links
Philadelphia-area corporations (including the Delaware Valley) Philadelphia-based Fortune 500 corporations
(by 2009 rank)Comcast (59) • Sunoco (78) • Cigna (129) • Aramark (189) • Crown Holdings (289)
Delaware Valley-based Fortune 500 corporations
(by 2009 rank)Companies listed above, plus: AmerisourceBergen (24) • DuPont (86) • Lincoln National Corporation (256) • Campbell Soup (299) • UGI Corp. (369) • SunGard (380) • Unisys (452) • Airgas (474)
Other notable Philadelphia-based businesses Amoroso's • AppLabs • Beneficial Bank • Crozer Keystone Health System • Pep Boys • Philadelphia Media Network • Radian Group • Tasty Baking • Urban Outfitters
Notable Philadelphia-based professional partnerships Ballard Spahr • Blank Rome • Cozen O'Connor • Dechert • Drinker Biddle & Reath • Duane Morris • Morgan, Lewis & Bockius • Pepper Hamilton • Saul Ewing
Other notable Delaware Valley-based businesses Aqua America • Bentley Systems • Brandywine Realty Trust • Boscov's • Carpenter Technology Corporation • Cephalon • Forman Mills • Liberty Property Trust • Polish Water Ice • Rita's Italian Ice • Vanguard • ViroPharma • Wawa • Wilmington Trust • WSFS Bank
Notable Delaware Valley-based
US headquarters of foreign businessesACE • AgustaWestland • AstraZeneca • HSBC Bank USA • ING Group • SAP America • Siemens Medical • Shire Pharmaceuticals • Sovereign Bancorp • Subaru • Teva Pharmacueticals • TD Bank
Notable Delaware Valley-based
division headquarters of US corporationsAcme (SuperValu) • AlliedBarton and Pinnacle Foods (Blackstone) • Keystone Helicopter (United Tech.) • Centocor (J&J) • Colonial Penn (Conseco) • Delmarva Power (Pepco Holdings) • GSI Commerce (eBay) • Hercules (Ashland) • MAB Paints (Sherwin-Williams) • McNeil Laboratories (J&J) • Neoware (Hewlett-Packard) • PECO (Exelon) • QVC (Liberty Media) • Rohm and Haas (Dow Chemical)
Categories:- Law firms established in 1904
- Law firms based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Tier One:
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
