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
Bingham Takes Five IP Partners from DLA's L.A. Office
Julia Love : The Recorder : April 10, 2013
The group is fronted by Richard de Bodo, who co-chaired DLA Piper's patent litigation and life sciences practices and will help lead the IP and life sciences practice groups at Bingham.
Bingham Takes 5 IP Partners from DLA's L.A. Office
Julia Love : The Recorder : April 10, 2013
Shareholder Leaves Greenberg Traurig, Reportedly to Open Jones Day Office in Miami
Julie Kay : Daily Business Review : April 9, 2013
Longtime Greenberg Traurig shareholder Enrique "Rick" Martin has quit, and sources say he will open a Miami office for international law firm Jones Day.
Shareholder leaves Greenberg Traurig, reportedly to open Jones Day office
Julie Kay : Daily Business Review : April 9, 2013
Longtime Greenberg Traurig shareholder Enrique "Rick" Martin has quit, and sources say he will open a Miami office for international law firm Jones Day.
The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200
Diane Jeantet : The Am Law Daily : April 9, 2013
King & Spalding brings aboard a former assistant chief of the Justice Department's antitrust division in New York; Gibson Dunn hires a longtime veteran of the SEC; and Schiff Hardin grabs four attorneys from Miller Canfield. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
D.C. MOVES
: The National Law Journal : April 8, 2013
Fox Rothschild Opens Miami-Area Office
Julie Kay and Gina Passarella : The Legal Intelligencer : April 5, 2013
Philadelphia-based Fox Rothschild has become the latest Pennsylvania law firm to launch a Florida office, snagging banking lawyer Raul Valdes-Fauli to head its operations in Coral Gables, Fla., near Miami. The firm said its goal is to continue to add attorneys and build the Miami office into a full-service location.
Morrison & Foerster Takes Privacy Team From Foley's San Diego Office
Julia Love : The Recorder : April 4, 2013
Morrison & Foerster is expanding its privacy and data security practice with a team of three lawyers from Foley & Lardner. Partner Andrew Serwin, of counsel Peter McLaughlin and associate Daniel Muto joined MoFo in San Diego this week, bringing much-needed expertise in health care and cybersecurity to the firm's 60-lawyer practice, MoFo said.
The Diamonds in the Mud
Kris Haworth : The Recorder : April 4, 2013
Data management practices overseas can be challenging, but in navigating murky waters, a clear solution often emerges, explains Kris Haworth of The Forensics Group.
Raul Valdes-Fauli starts Fox Rothschild office in Miami
Julie Kay : Daily Business Review : April 3, 2013
Raul Valdes-Fauli, former managing partner at Fowler Rodriguez Valdes-Fauli, took associate Thomas Oppenheimer with him.
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