Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Dorsey & Whitney LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Dorsey & Whitney
- Designation: Minneapolis
- Head Count: 517
- Gross Revenues: $313,500,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $605,000
- Profits Per Partner: $515,000
- Year Over Year Change: 11
Dorsey & Whitney’s alumni roster reads like a veritable Who’s Who of Minnesota royalty. Former vice president Walter Mondale, U.S. Supreme Court justice Harry Blackmun, and noted law professor William Prosser have all hung their diploma on Dorsey’s wall at some point in time. Sure, it’s easy to poke fun at a firm based in Minneapolis, but Dorsey’s lawyers have gotten the last laugh: The firm regularly scores in the upper reaches of The American Lawyer’s Midlevel Associates Survey, coming in tenth in 2010 and twentieth in 2011.
And Dorsey’s footprint actually extends far beyond its home state. It has offices throughout the United States, as well as in Europe and the Asia–Pacific region, and—perhaps not a surprise given the location of its headquarters—has a presence in Canada as well. In The Great White North, lawyers handle Canadian cross–border capital markets and M&A transactions among other matters. The firm as a whole is well–known for its M&A work, with other areas of focus including intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, tax, and trusts and estates.
More than a century old, Dorsey has never been a leader on revenue per lawyer or profits per partner: Both fall well outside the top 100 firms. And the firm took a hit during the global economic crisis, coming in fifty–seventh of 84 firms on The American Lawyer’s Recession Performance Index and seeing revenue drops in 2009 and 2010 before stabilizing in 2011.
While Dorsey trails the pack, too, on diversity—it ranked 128th of 194 firms on our 2011 Diversity Scorecard, with minorities comprising just 8 percent of the U.S. attorney ranks—it earns good marks on pro bono, coming in forty–fourth of 200 firms on the magazine’s 2011 survey. (Dorsey lawyers averaged nearly 70 hours a year of nonpaying work). Projects have included assistance on housing, civil rights, children’s immigration, and international human rights issues.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 99 | 11 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 99 | 11 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 75 | 5 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | NR | N/A | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 44 | 1 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 138 | 10 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 20 | 10 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 16 | 9 | Summer programs |
In the News
Judge Orders Bank of China to Produce Documents in Suit Over Terror Killing
Brendan Pierson : New York Law Journal : May 8, 2013
Judge Shira Scheindlin has, for the second time, ordered the government-owned Bank of China to produce documents in a lawsuit accusing the bank of providing financial services to a terrorist group that killed an American teenager in 2006.
State Senator Charged With Embezzlement of $440,000 From Foreclosure Accounts
Tom Hays : The Associated Press : May 7, 2013
John Sampson brazenly tried to short-circuit a federal fraud investigation of his law practice by seeking inside information from an employee of the Eastern District U.S. Attorney's Office, prosecutors said yesterday.
Come to a Full Stop
Avram E. Luft and Laura Zuckerwise : New York Law Journal : May 6, 2013
Avram E. Luft and Laura Zuckerwise of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton write: When parties enter into tolling agreements, the conventional wisdom is that the potential litigation has come to a complete standstill. However, what most defendants fail to consider is that under New York law, while the claim against a defendant may be tolled, in the ordinary course prejudgment interest on that claim continues to run unabated.
VOLS Firms Meet Pro Bono 2012 Pledge
Bill Lienhard : New York Law Journal : May 3, 2013
Baker & McKenzie Helps Best Buy Check Out of Europe
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : April 30, 2013
Five years after Best Buy entered Europe through a $2.15 billion joint venture deal, the world's largest consumer electronics retailer has tapped one of the world's largest firms for counsel on its $775 million exit from the continent via the sale of a 50 percent stake in a joint venture.
The 2013 Am Law 100
: The American Lawyer : April 29, 2013
In fiscal 2012, The Am Law 100—which has a new leader in gross revenue this year—posted modest gains on all the key metrics.
Cold Streak
Amy Kolz : The American Lawyer : April 25, 2013
Job one for Dorsey's new management: reversing five years of declining profits.
The 2013 Am Law 100
: The American Lawyer : April 25, 2013
In fiscal 2012, The Am Law 100—which has a new leader in gross revenue this year—posted modest gains on all our key metrics. Read the complete package.
Disappearing Act
Amy Kolz : The American Lawyer : April 25, 2013
Cull the partnership to boost profits: That's the conventional wisdom. But is it truth—or illusion?
The 2013 Am Law 100
: The American Lawyer : April 25, 2013
In fiscal 2012, The Am Law 100—which has a new leader in gross revenue this year—posted modest gains on all our key metrics. Read the complete package.
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