Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner
- Designation: Washington, D.C.
- Head Count: 369
- Gross Revenues: $348,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $945,000
- Profits Per Partner: $1,160,000
- Year Over Year Change: 4
In a day when intellectual property boutiques are a disappearing breed, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner continues to do well. It was named The American Lawyer’s IP Litigation Department of the Year in 2012 (a title it earned in 2006 as well)—and little wonder: The firm has won key patent victories for leading players in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries (including Eli Lilly and Company, a client for decades), and has become a go–to firm for tech companies bringing matters before the International Trade Commission. With some 400 lawyers—many with Ph.D.s and advanced science degrees—Finnegan handles almost every type of IP case imaginable, though patent work makes up about 80 percent of its docket.
Founded in Washington, D.C., in 1965, Finnegan regularly ranks as one of the city’s 20 largest offices, with more than 200 lawyers based in the nation’s capital (about 50 more work in nearby Reston, Virginia). The firm has five U.S. offices in all—including outposts in tech centers like Palo Alto and Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1988 it became one of the first patent firms to open an office in Tokyo, and since then has added to its international footprint with outposts in Brussels, Shanghai, and Taipei.
Finnegan’s lawyers are among the most diverse to be found at any law firm, IP specialty shop or otherwise. With minorities comprising about 21 percent of its U.S.based lawyers, and more than 10 percent of the partnership, Finnegan ranked fifteenth of 194 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2011 Diversity Scorecard. The firm scores well on the pro bono front as well: It placed sixty–fifth of 200 firms on our 2011 pro bono tally, with the average Finnegan attorney putting in more than 50 hours of volunteer legal work for the year.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 85 | 4 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 85 | 4 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 118 | no change | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | 44 | 15 | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 65 | 10 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 17 | 2 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 72 | 41 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 86 | 51 | Summer programs |
In the News
Smith Gambrell adds 8 IP litigators in D.C.
Meredith Hobbs : Daily Report : January 9, 2013
Smith, Gambrell & Russell has added eight intellectual property litigators to its Washington office by acquiring the D.C. office of Boston firm Murphy & King.
Some firms call 2012 terrific, others, 'bumpy'
Jenna Greene and Matthew Huisman : The National Law Journal : January 7, 2013
In a year when few lawyers expected soaring profits, given the still-sluggish economy, D.C. firms generally mustered decent showings in 2012, according to firm leaders and legal consultants.
D.C. Firm Leaders' Early Takes on 2012 Financial Picture Range from 'Terrific' to 'Bumpy'
Jenna Greene and Matthew Huisman : The National Law Journal : January 6, 2013
In a year when few lawyers expected soaring profits, given the still-sluggish economy, D.C. firms generally mustered decent showings in 2012, according to firm leaders and legal consultants.
Women Leaders of The Am Law 100: The Law of Small Numbers
Amy Kolz : The American Lawyer : December 28, 2012
An in-depth look at the number of women serving in leadership positions at The Am Law 100.
D.C. MOVES
: The National Law Journal : December 24, 2012
Burr & Forman adds partner for immigration practice
Meredith Hobbs : Daily Report : December 19, 2012
Immigration lawyer Anton Mertens has left Smith Gambrell & Russell, where he headed the business immigration practice, to join Burr & Forman as a partner.
Akin Gump, Latham Advising on $1 Billion Utilities Deal
Tom Huddleston Jr. : The Am Law Daily : December 17, 2012
Utility holding company The Laclede Group has agreed to pay roughly $1 billion to acquire two gas utilities?one in Missouri, the other in Massachusetts?from Energy Transfer Equity subsidiary Southern Union Company.
Walker Digital, LLC v. Axis Communications AB, DeFAX Case No. D65269 (D.Del. Nov. 21, 2012) Andrews, J. (8 pages).
Special to Delaware Law Weekly : Delaware Business Court Insider : December 5, 2012
Walker Digital, LLC v. Axis Communications AB, DeFAX Case No. D65269 (D.Del. Nov. 21, 2012) Andrews, J. (8 pages).
VERDICTS & SETTLEMENTS
: The National Law Journal : December 3, 2012
It's Still a Game of Whack-a-Troll
Lisa Shuchman : Corporate Counsel : December 1, 2012
Patent reform helps spur a burst in litigation in our latest Patent Litigation Survey.
- Akerman Senterfitt
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
- Allen & Overy
- Arthur Cox
- Ashurst
- Baker & Hostetler
- Baker & McKenzie
- Bingham McCutchen
- Bracewell & Giuliani
- Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
- Brown Rudnick
- Burr & Forman
- Cahill Gordon & Reindel
- Carlton Fields
- Clayton Utz
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Clifford Chance
- Cooley
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Dewey & LeBoeuf
- Diamond McCarthy
- Dickinson Wright
- DLA Piper
- Dorsey & Whitney
- Dreier LLP
- Freehills
- Freshfields
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
- Greenberg Traurig
- Gross McGinley
- Harris Beach
- Haynes and Boone
- Herbert Smith
- Herrick, Feinstein
- Hogan Lovells
- Howrey
- Hughes Hubbard & Reed
- Jenner & Block
- Jones Day
- Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman
- Kilpatrick Townsend
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Kutak Rock
- Lane Powell
- Latham & Watkins
- Linklaters
- Lowenstein Sandler
- Margolis Edelstein
- McCarter & English
- McDermott Will & Emery
- McKenna Long & Aldridge
- McKool Smith
- Minter Ellison
- Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo
- Morrison & Foerster
- Moses & Singer
- Nixon Peabody
- Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus
- Norton Rose
- O?Melveny & Myers
- Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
- Perkins Coie
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pitman
- Potter Anderson & Corroon
- Proskauer Rose
- Pryor Cashman
- Reed Smith
- Richards, Layton & Finger
- Robinson & Cole
- Ropes & Gray
- Seyfarth Shaw
- Shea & Gould
- Shearman & Sterling
- Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
- Shipman & Goodwin
- Simmons & Simmons
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young
- Stroock & Stroock & Lavan
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Sullivan & Worcester
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges
- White & Case
- Wiley Rein
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
- Winston & Strawn
- Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor
