Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on King & Spalding LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
King & Spalding
- Designation: Atlanta
- Head Count: 838
- Gross Revenues: $827,500,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $990,000
- Profits Per Partner: $1,985,000
- Year Over Year Change: 1
For most of its history—and it’s a long one, stretching back to 1885—King & Spalding was a regional leader, one of the Southeast’s top law firms. Sure, it had built a top–flight litigation group (largely thanks to clients from the automotive, pharmaceutical, and tobacco industries), and even opened a Washington, D.C., office in the late 1970s to support its growing food and drug practice. But for the most part, you didn’t think King & Spalding without thinking Atlanta.
That changed as the millennium came to a close and the firm’s strategy—and ambitions—shifted. To support more transactional work, King & Spalding opened a New York office in 1990. To expand its energy, finance, and corporate practices into Europe, it opened a London office in 2003. More outposts came in short order, including three in the Middle East, where King & Spalding now has its highest concentration of clients outside of the United States and has developed major practice areas in Islamic finance, international arbitration, and private equity (in all, King & Spalding has 17 offices across the globe, with nearly 800 lawyers, including some 150 equity partners).
The growth hasn’t come without some hiccups. The firm—thirty–third on the 2011 Am Law 100 list with $718 million in gross revenue—laid off over 100 people (including several dozen associates and counsel) at the height of the recession in 2009. Its rankings on The American Lawyer’s Midlevel Associates Survey have left ample room for improvement—coming in 116th in 2010 and ninety–sixth in 2011—as has its finish on the magazine’s pro bono scorecard (ninety–second of 200 firms in 2011). It also suffered some very public hits—from all sides of the political spectrum—when it took, then withdrew from, a 2011 assignment from the U.S. House of Representatives to defend the Defense of Marriage Act. (After the firm’s withdrawal, Paul Clement, the head of the firm’s appellate practice, resigned in protest.) There have been bright spots, too. King & Spalding’s product liability practice has grown into one of the nation’s largest, and accounted for 19 percent of the firm’s revenues in 2010. It was a finalist as The American Lawyer’s top product liability department in both 2004 and 2012 (for overall litigation the firm earned honorable mentions in 2006, 2008, and 2012). The health care law group, too, has shone. Numbering more than 200 lawyers, it is one of the nation’s largest such departments and has helped to shape recent health care reform laws. In the process, it has kept the firm healthy, too.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 30 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 30 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 36 | 1 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | NR | N/A | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 92 | 6 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | NR | N/A | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 96 | no change | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 29 | 5 | Summer programs |
In the News
Bingham Adds IP Partner in Silicon Valley
Julia Love : The Recorder : May 21, 2013
The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200
Diane Jeantet : The Am Law Daily : May 21, 2013
K&L Gates hires two renewable energy partners in Portland; King & Spalding poaches from Bird & Bird to establish a London trade practice; and a fourth Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft lawyer leaves the firm for O'Melveny & Myers. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
Quinn Emanuel to Open in Hong Kong
Anthony Lin : The Asian Lawyer : May 20, 2013
Quinn Emanuel has announced plans to open a Hong Kong office with a partner recruited from Korean law firm Kim & Chang. John Rhie will relocate to Hong Kong to become head of the firm's Asia international arbitration practice, pending approval by the Hong Kong Law Society. The firm said it would also relocate New York partner Carey Ramos.
AG Holder Taking Fire Yet Again
Todd Ruger : The National Law Journal : May 20, 2013
Renewed criticism has placed Eric Holder on the defensive, raising questions about whether the attorney general would remain in office and threatening to undermine his effort to shape a legacy of increased government transparency and the protection of civil rights.
Summer Associates - charts
: Texas Lawyer : May 20, 2013
The Score: Dentons Partner Doubles as Fantasy Sports Pro
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : May 17, 2013
Like many lawyers, Glenn Colton is a baseball fan. But the Dentons white-collar and government investigations practice head has taken his love for America's national pastime to the next level, scoring his own fantasy baseball column and SiriusXM radio show. In June, Colton will be inducted into the Fantasy Sports Trade Association's Hall of Fame. Also: Covington advises the U.S. Open on a new $770 million TV deal with ESPN and Bracewell & Giuliani and Loeb & Loeb get involved in two high-profile memorabilia fights in our regular look at sports and the law.
Quinn Emanuel to Open in Hong Kong
Anthony Lin : The Asian Lawyer : May 16, 2013
Former Kim & Chang senior foreign attorney John Rhie will relocate from Seoul to head the U.S. litigation firm's Asia international arbitration practice.
DISH Selling Debt Ahead of Possible Sprint Deal
Tom Huddleston Jr. : The Am Law Daily : May 15, 2013
A month after shaking up the telecommunications industry by making a $25.5 billion bid to acquire Sprint Nextel, DISH Network has announced a $2.5 billion debt offering meant to help finance part of the proposed deal. Sullivan & Cromwell has been brought in to advise DISH on the debt offering while White & Case is working on the takeover.
Large Firms' Ethical Screens Jeopardized by Ruling, Two Say
Kathleen Baydala Joyner : Daily Report : May 14, 2013
The Georgia attorney general and a private lawyer are asking the state Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling that prohibits public defenders within the same circuit from representing co-defendants, arguing it would place large law firms in jeopardy.
At the Podium: In Case of 'Tough Noogies,' Oracle Stuck With Arbitration
Scott Graham : The Recorder : May 10, 2013
- Adams and Reese
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- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
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