Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Baker & Hostetler
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Baker & Hostetler
- Designation: National
- Head Count: 810
- Gross Revenues: $510,500,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $630,000
- Profits Per Partner: $930,000
- Year Over Year Change: 4
Talk about a return on investment. In 1916 three lawyers each put $500 in the bank and started a law firm. Today, the firm they created—Baker & Hostetler—deposits hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Based in Cleveland, Baker & Hostetler’s practice areas include business, employment and labor, litigation, tax, and employee benefits. But perhaps it is best known (and best compensated) for its work untangling the multibillion–dollar Ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff.
Lead by bankruptcy partner Irving Picard, a court–appointed Baker & Hostetler team has recovered some $10 billion—and counting—for Madoff victims. The assignment has been a boon to Baker & Hostetler’s coffers: fees to the firm have triggered double–digit increases in annual revenue and profits per partner. That trend may continue, too. Baker & Hostetler is expected to receive some $600 million for its work between 2011 and 2014, according to correspondence from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, a private nonprofit entity backed by broker–dealers, which pays the firm’s fees.
While its Madoff work has been getting most of the attention in recent years, Baker—a full–service firm with 11 U.S. offices and affiliates in Brazil and Mexico—keeps busy in other ways, as well. It has a long history in media law, having counseled media companies before there was radio, let alone the Internet. More recently, the firm has created a Health Care Reform Group—a cross–practice group that includes lawyers from Baker & Hostetler’s health care industry, employee benefits, tax, employment and labor, and litigation teams.
Baker & Hostetler’s diversity scores have been ho–hum (with minorities comprising just 5 percent of the partnership, it finished 113th of 194 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2011 Diversity Scorecard) and it trails the pack on pro bono (Baker & Hostetler ranked 151st of 200 firms on our 2010 tally, with lawyers averaging just over 20 hours of nonpaying work annually). But it has come in well above average on associate satisfaction, finishing seventeenth of 126 firms on our 2011 midlevels survey, and thirty–seventh of 137 firms in 2010. All of that Madoff work may be grabbing headlines, but it is apparently grabbing junior lawyers’ interest as well. And, sure, the fees don’t hurt either.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 61 | 4 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 61 | 4 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 51 | 6 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | NR | N/A | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 151 | 13 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 88 | 25 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 17 | no change | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 102 | 30 | Summer programs |
In the News
State Bar Launches Global Law Week
Rick Kopstein, Photographer : New York Law Journal : May 15, 2013
Through Friday, multiple law firms and other groups will open their doors to attorneys, legal professionals, clients and colleagues from New York and around the world to discuss major issues in the international practice of law.
Amid Detroit's Fiscal Woes, City's Am Law Firms Press On
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : May 8, 2013
Faced with the possibility of becoming the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, the Motor City has taken heart in more promising news, such as the U.S. auto industry hitting a six-year sales peak in April. Meanwhile, Detroit firms are riding out the storm in the hopes they'll see better days.
D.C. CALENDAR
: The National Law Journal : May 6, 2013
INADMISSIBLE
: The National Law Journal : May 1, 2013
Reply hazy, try again; Breuer returns to Covington; new D.C. boutique; Supreme peeps; Nancy Pelosi thinks it oh-over; Lamberth won't stop working; and a sealed ruling in this week's column.
Information Tech Expert Launches Own Practice
Christine Simmons : New York Law Journal : April 29, 2013
Peter Brown, who was head of Baker & Hostetler's information technology practice, has struck out on his own to form Peter Brown & Associates.
MOVERS
: The National Law Journal : April 29, 2013
John Cherundolo joins Hiscock & Barclay's torts and products liability practice as of counsel. Plus more law firm movers in this week's column.
Lawyers Monitoring Controversial Cybersecurity Bill
Todd Ruger : The National Law Journal : April 23, 2013
The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200
Diane Jeantet : The Am Law Daily : April 23, 2013
K&L Gates adds two partners in Charleston; former Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough partners join Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton in Atlanta; and the New York office of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton welcomes nine new attorneys, including three partners. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
Donations from Am Law 200 Sources Help Fuel Weiner's Mayoral Ambitions
Diane Jeantet : The Am Law Daily : April 22, 2013
As disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner considers running in this year's New York City mayor's race, a $4.8 million war chest that includes $72,721 in contributions from Am Law 200 lawyers and staffers is likely to factor into his ultimate decision.
Rakoff Rejects Bid to Block Merkin/A.G. Settlement
Brendan Pierson : New York Law Journal : April 16, 2013
Southern District Judge Jed Rakoff yesterday denied a motion by Irving Picard, the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, to block a $410 million settlement between Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and hedge fund manager Ezra Merkin, who was accused of steering clients' money to Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
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