Heller Ehrman

Infobox Law Firm
firm_name = Heller Ehrman LLP
firm_
headquarters =
num_offices = 13
num_attorneys = 730
practice_areas = General practice
revenue = " in November 2006]
date_founded = 1890
company_type = Limited Liability Partnership
homepage = [http://www.hellerehrman.com www.hellerehrman.com]
dissolved= 2008

Heller Ehrman LLP was an international law firm of more than 650 attorneys in 14 offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. [ [http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?product_id=1209&ch_id=242&co_page=1&AID=10280211&PID=2208567 Vault.com Profile] ] Heller Ehrman was founded in San Francisco in 1890 and had additional offices located in most of the major financial centers around the world including New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore. [ [http://www.hewm.com/en/about/offices.aspx www.hellerehrman.com Offices] ]

In September 2008, the firm encountered troubles after losing 15 intellectual property partners to Covington & Burling, which may then have led to collapse of merger talks with Mayer Brown on 14 September 2008. [http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?
] Including the above 15, a total of 50 partners have left the firm this year. [http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202424608550 Heller ponders dissolution] Law.com, 18 September 2008] One anonymous legal market expert said the exit of the IP partners could constitute a default in Heller’s line of credit with its bank, ­effectively triggering liquidation:quote|"It’s common to have provisions in law firms’ loan documentation that say if a certain number of ­partners leave the firm it could put the loan into default or turn the spigot off altogether. This could ultimately drive a firm into liquidation."

On September 25, 2008, the firm confirmed its dissolution is to occur November 28, 2008. [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/25/BUQF135ES8.DTL&tsp=1 Heller Ehrman law firm to dissolve Friday] ]

History

Heller Ehrman had its beginning in 1890 when Emanuel S. Heller opened his law practice at 124 Sansome Street, Room 30, in San Francisco, California. Heller was a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, received his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and passed the California Bar in 1889. In 1896, Francis H. Powers joined with Heller and the partnership named changed to Heller & Powers. In 1905, Sidney M. Ehrman, also a graduate of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, entered into partnership with Heller and Powers, forming Heller Powers & Ehrman. In 1921, Jerome White and Florence McAuliffe join the partnership after the death of Francis Powers, establishing the firm as Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP. The firm retained this name for more than 84 years until the name was shortened in 2005. [According to Carole Hicke at [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006P8FM4 Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe: A Century of Service to Clients and Community] , 1991.]

Between the years of 1974 to 2007, Heller Ehrman realized an exponential increase in business, causing the firm to branch out from the west coast with an additional 12 offices in locations ranging from London to Singapore. In 1986 the San Francisco headquarters was moved to a new skyscraper at 333 Bush Street. By 1991 the firm had 370 lawyers, over 3.5 times the number it had employed just ten years earlier. [ [http://www.hellerehrman.com/en/about/history.html History of Heller Ehrman LLP] ]

In 1993, the first advertisement ever sold on the internet was sold on the Global Network Navigator (now America On-Line) to Heller Ehrman LLP, [First Occurrences of Computers and the Internet "See also" History of the Global Network Navigator.] and in 1994 Heller Ehrman launched the first law firm website. [ [http://www.hellerehrman.com/en/about/history.html History of Heller Ehrman LLP] ]

By 2007 the firm had over 730 lawyers, over twice the number it employed just 15 years earlier. During the 2006 fiscal year it more than doubled its gross revenue from just 10 years earlier to a level just north of half a billion dollars. [ [http://www.hellerehrman.com/en/about/history.html History of Heller Ehrman LLP] ]

Notable Clients

The firm represented a number of high-profile business associations, including GE, Microsoft Corporation, Apple, Sony Corporation, Texas Instruments, QUALCOMM Inc., Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America, Bank of New York, Washington Mutual, Ampex Corporation, Levi Strauss & Co., Consolidated Foods (Sara Lee Corporation), McDonald's Corporation, Starwood Hotels, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Phillip Morris, Credit Suisse, VISA, and Yahoo! Inc.. [ [http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?product_id=1209&ch_id=242&co_page=2&v=1 Vault.com Snapshot] ]

Notable Cases & Transactions

*In 1929 the firm negotiated the financing for the construction of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge.

*In 1937 the firm arranged for financing of the Golden Gate Bridge. One of the firm's partners, Jerome White, served as the Golden Gate Bridge District's General Counsel.

*The firm took on a landmark antitrust case " [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=433&page=36 GTE Sylvania, Inc. v. Continental T.V., Inc.] " in 1965, which was reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1975. The Court ruled in favor of Heller's client GTE Sylvania. The case set a precedent for applying the "rule of reason" to vertical business restraints.

*In 1968 Heller Ehrman helped form ALZA Corporation, a pioneer in producing certain drug delivery methods. ALZA remains a long-term client.

*In 1969 the firm argued "Parisi v. Davidson" pro bono before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case was successfully argued and helped to define the rights of conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War.

*One of the firm's best-known pro bono cases occurred in " [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=409&page=205 Trafficante v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company] ." The firm represented white plaintiffs against Metropolitan Life on behalf of minority residents because of the insurance company's discrimination against the minorities in a San Francisco apartment. Both the U.S. District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said the white plaintiffs had no standing to sue because they themselves were not facing discrimination, however, in 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court passed down a unanimous decision that the plaintiffs did indeed have standing to sue on behalf of the minority residents.

*In 1976 Heller Ehrman defended client Arthur Young & Company in "SEC v . Geotek", 426 F. Supp. 718 (N.D. Cal. 1976), "affirmed", 590 F.2d 785 (9th Cir. 1979), which became the SEC's flagship case against the accounting profession.

*In 2002 Heller Ehrman negotiated a class action settlement package for McDonald's Corporation in response to the highly publicized "french fry" litigation.

*Between 2002 and its 2008 dissolution, Heller Ehrman represented Navy veteran Norbert Basil MacLean III who was shut of the U.S. Supreme Court due to an inequity in federal law prohibiting service members from filing a petition for certiorari. Heller was instrumental in obtaining bipartisan support on the "Equal Justice for Our Military Act of 2007" and the "Equal Justice for United States Military Personnel Act of 2007" pending in the 110th U.S. Congress. The day after Heller voted to dissolve, the U.S. House of Representatives, held debate on September 27, 2008 and passed by a two-thirds super majority the Equal Justice for Our Military Act. [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2008_record&page=H10263&position=all U.S. Congress. House (2008) Equal Justice for Our Military Act of 2007 "Congressional Record - House" H10623-24 (September 27, 2008)] ] If passed by the Senate, and enacted into law, it would give all court-martialed service members equal access to the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time in America's history once their cases conclude review in the military courts. The Senate is expected to take up the House passed bill during the week of November 17, 2008.

*In 2003 Heller Ehrman represented Northrop Grumman Corporation in the $4.7 billion sale of TRW Automotive to The Blackstone Group. [ [http://www.blackstone.com/news/press_releases/11-19-02.pdf Blackstone Press Release] ] The transaction resulted in one of the largest leveraged buyouts in world history.

*In 2005 Heller Ehrman received a 9-0 decision in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of client Merck KGaA in "Merck KGaA v. Integra LifeSciences." The case created a landmark patent infringement decision for the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.

Offices

*San Francisco (1890)
*Silicon Valley (1974)
*Hong Kong (1978)
*Seattle (1983)
*Los Angeles (1987)
*Anchorage (1989)
*Singapore (1994)
*Washington, D.C. (1994)
*San Diego (1998)
*New York City (1999)
*Madison (2000)
*Beijing (2004)
*London (2007)
*Shanghai (2008)

Practice Areas

Heller Ehrman, at the time of its dissolution in September 2008, was a full-service law firm having 35 practice groups in the following areas of law:

*Antitrust & Trade Regulation
*Appeals & Strategy
*Asia
*Capital Markets
*Compensation & Benefits
*Consumer Litigation
*Corporate Governance
*Corporate Securities
*Debt Finance
*Energy
*Energy & Clean Technologies
*Environmental Litigation & Counseling
*FDA
*Hospitality
*Information Technology
*Insurance Recovery
*Intellectual Property Litigation
*Intellectual Property Transactions
*International Law
*International Arbitration & ADR
*Labor & Employment
*Life Sciences
*Mergers & Acquisitions
*Patents & Trademarks
*Private Equity & Fund Formation
*Product Liability
*Project Finance
*Real Estate & Finance
*Restructuring & Insolvency
*Securities Litigation
*Structured Finance
*Tax Law
*Venture Law Group/Emerging Companies
*Wealth Management
*White Collar Criminal Defense

References

External links

* [http://www.hellerehrman.com Heller Ehrman Website]