Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Foley & Lardner LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Foley & Lardner
- Designation: Milwaukee
- Head Count: 872
- Gross Revenues: $651,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $745,000
- Profits Per Partner: $955,000
- Year Over Year Change: 1
When you’re a 900–lawyer firm based in Milwaukee, you already stand out from the pack, but Foley & Lardner is noteworthy on other grounds, too. For one thing, its attorneys probably know more about baseball than any other firm.
Foley is the longtime counsel for Major League Baseball—it helped steer the MLB through the recent acquisition of the Chicago Cubs by the Ricketts family, making it the single largest transaction for a North American sports franchise to date—and is one of the nation’s leaders in sports law. The firm also boasts strengths in health care law, life sciences, and securities and IP litigation.Foley operates 18 U.S. offices and, not surprising given its headquarters, has a particularly large presence in the Midwest. It expanded into Asia in the 2000s, opening an office in Tokyo in 2003 and one in Shanghai in 2007 (the firm has an office in Brussels as well). The economic downturn, however, stalled Foley’s growth somewhat. In January 2011 it had about 40 fewer lawyers than it did a year earlier, and gross revenues had dropped some $100 million during the same period. The firm ranked seventy–second of 84 firms on The American Lawyer’s Recession Performance Index, and Foley’s profits per partner rank barely managed to crack the top 100 between 2007 and 2010. Morale among junior lawyers has also lagged: The firm ranked 120th of 126 firms in 2011 (it was 119th of 137 firms the year before).
A bright spot has been the firm’s pro bono commitment which got a boost even as the economy, and Foley’s revenues, took a hit. Ranked 119th in 2007, the firm placed thirty–sixth in 2011, having increased its annual pro bono hours by 192 percent in four years. In an innovative touch, Foley has also leveraged its IP prowess in its pro bono efforts by working with community–based artist organizations to help musicians, actors, even video game designers, in matters ranging from copyright registrations to landlord–tenant disputes. “Many artists are down–on–their luck and out of money,” says partner Martin Bishop, the chair of Foley’s pro bono committee in Chicago, who orchestrated the project. “Without the help of competent counsel, some of their rights would go unprotected.”
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 44 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 44 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 31 | 4 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | NR | N/A | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 37 | 1 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 0 | no change | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 120 | 1 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 73 | 2 | Summer programs |
In the News
No Stranger to Hacking, Hunton & Williams Adds Cybersecurity Expert
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : April 25, 2013
Paul Tiao, a former senior cybersecurity adviser with the FBI, has left the agency to become a partner in the privacy and data security group of Hunton & Williams in Washington, D.C. The practice group Tiao is joining, which Hunton launched 13 years ago, was itself caught up in a hacking scandal involving several security firms two years ago.
Greenberg Settles with Heller Estate for $5 million
Scott Graham : The Recorder : April 25, 2013
Indiana Federal Court OKs Jump-Start on Predictive Coding
Monica Bay : Law Technology News : April 22, 2013
In feisty case, District Court Judge Robert Miller for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana OKs defense team's jump-start on predictive coding.
MOVERS
: The National Law Journal : April 22, 2013
George Joseph has been elected managing partner of Nossaman. He succeeds Michael Heumann, who will continue his litigation practice. Plus more law firm movers in this week's column.
Boston Suspect Faces Federal Charges, Death Penalty
Todd Ruger : The National Law Journal : April 22, 2013
The U.S. Department of Justice announced federal charges on Monday against the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, meaning that Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. will decide whether to press for the death penalty in the case.
Bomb Suspects Pictured; Lawyers Come To Victims' Aid
Sheri Qualters : The National Law Journal : April 18, 2013
Federal authorities released pictures of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing on Thursday as firms and lawyers with Boston ties stepped up to help victims and practices in the afflicted area strove to return to normal.
Bomb Suspects Pictured; Lawyers Come To Victims' Aid
Sheri Qualters : The National Law Journal : April 18, 2013
Federal authorities released pictures of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing on Thursday as firms and lawyers with Boston ties stepped up to help victims and practices in the afflicted area strove to return to normal.
Bomb suspects pictured; lawyers come to victims' aid
Sheri Qualters : The National Law Journal : April 18, 2013
Federal authorities released pictures of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing on Thursday as firms and lawyers with Boston ties stepped up to help victims and practices in the afflicted area strove to return to normal.
Detroit council OKs $3.4M Jones Day pact
Sara Randazzo : The Am Law Daily : April 18, 2013
The Detroit City Council voted to approve a $3.35 million contract to hire Jones Day as the financially crippled city's restructuring counsel, but the vote came only after suspending the proceedings Tuesday for an hour amid a raucous protest by a group of angry city residents.
As Wisconsin Governor Walker Makes Move Onto National Stage, Michael Best Toils in the Wings
Victor Li : The Am Law Daily : April 18, 2013
Milwaukee-based Michael Best & Friedrich's close relationship with potential Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker has paid dividends for both.
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