Firm Profiles

In the early 1920s, Russell Baker boxed at county fairs to pay his tuition at the University of Chicago. Now, nearly a century later, the firm he cofounded in 1949 (with John Mc Kenzie) also packs a punch. Almost 4,000 lawyers strong, Baker & McKenzie ranked first in gross revenue on both the 2011 and 2010 Am Law 100 lists—each time crossing the $2 billion mark. It has more equity partners than most firms have lawyers, and with 70 offices in 42 countries has a presence that doesn’t just dot the globe but can be found in nearly every key business market on the planet. Indeed, nearly two–thirds of Baker & McKenzie’s legal fees derive from clients it serves in five countries or more.

Unlike firms that launched overseas offices tentatively, beginning with major business centers like London and Paris, Baker took bold steps from the start. Its first international office, opened in 1956, was in Venezuela, and in 1989 it was one of the first firms to set up shop in Moscow. Given the scope of the firm’s footprint, it is little wonder that it has become a go–to name for cross–border transactions, global structuring and corporate issues, and international intellectual property.

Baker’s litigation practice is also well– known for its reach. In January 2012 it was awarded an honorable mention in The American Lawyer’s Litigation Department of the Year issue, with standout results including the rollback of a €118 million price–fixing fine imposed on Mitsubishi Electric Corporation by the European Union, and nine–figure recoveries for Petrobras AG and OAO Lukoil.

The firm has also been innovative in how it has leveraged its offshore presence to win new work. In 2006 Baker struck a novel arrangement with Unilever to manage the consumer company’s enormous trademark portfolio—some 160,000 marks—out of Baker’s Manila–based facility.

To be sure, there are areas for improvement. Historically, its revenue per lawyer results have not been as august as its gross revenue numbers. And its Swiss verein structure and autonomous offices mean that parts of the firm are less integrated. Nor have junior lawyers given the firm an unqualified thumbs–up: Baker earned a middling seventy–first place ranking on The American Lawyer’s 2011 Midlevel Associates Survey, down from sixtieth in 2010. Improving those numbers may take bold steps—but that’s never been something Baker & McKenzie has shied away from.

—Updated as of 1/1/12