Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Mayer Brown LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Mayer Brown
- Designation: International
- Head Count: 1,457
- Gross Revenues: $1,091,500,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $750,000
- Profits Per Partner: $1,150,000
- Year Over Year Change: 2
Today’s Mayer Brown is the progeny of three firms, on three continents, that came together during the first decade of the 2000s. In 2002 Chicago–based Mayer, Brown & Platt merged with the English firm Rowe & Maw—a combination that merged, in turn, with Hong Kong-based Johnson Stokes & Master (JSM) in 2008. Together the firms, all with roots that go back to the nineteenth century, created an industry giant.
While Mayer Brown’s roughly 1,600 lawyers are based in 20 offices, about half are in the U.S. with Chicago, its biggest. The legacy–JSM outposts remain strong in Asia, with offices in Bangkok, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. A Singapore office that opened in September 2011 is the most recent addition, and has a practice focused on energy and project finance, as well as international arbitration.
As one would expect from a firm of Mayer Brown’s size and reach, its practice covers virtually all legal disciplines, including banking, bankruptcy, international trade, employment law, environmental law, intellectual property, real estate, and tax. Mayer Brown’s litigation practice—which contributes about 30 percent of the firm’s revenue—earned a finalist spot in The American Lawyer’s 2012 Litigation Department of the Year contest, thanks to a string of successes including U.S. Supreme Court advocacy for AT&T Mobility LLC, copyright defense for Google’s YouTube, and work for Medtronic, Inc, Quicken Loans Inc., and Cargill Inc.
The firm has seen some rougher patches as well. The recession hit Mayer Brown relatively hard, forcing several rounds of attorney layoffs (substantially trimming the firm’s peak head count of 1,801 in 2008), and two consecutive years of revenue drops before a swing upward in 2011. In the midst of the broad economic downturn, the firm had internal struggles that spilled over into public view including a succession struggle and some prominent partner defections. Those dust–ups have left the headlines.
In other, nonfinancial metrics, Mayer Brown ranks in the middle of the pack, placing eighty–fourth of 126 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2011 Midlevel Associates Survey and ninety–sixth of 194 firms on the magazine’s Diversity Scorecard 2011. Its pro bono scores, however, were higher: The firm ranked fifty–second out of 200 firms in 2011, with attorneys racking up an average of 60 hours on pro bono matters. With 1,600 lawyers, Mayer Brown is not just doing good, but doing a lot of it.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 16 | 2 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 16 | 2 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 11 | 1 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | NR | N/A | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 52 | 25 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 103 | 7 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 84 | N/A | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 35 | 4 | Summer programs |
In the News
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 partner leaves the firm for O'Melveny & Myers. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
Newsmakers
: Texas Lawyer : May 20, 2013
3-D Printing Shapes Up as Next Frontier In IP Law
Lisa Shuchman : Corporate Counsel : May 20, 2013
Back in February, President Barack Obama indicated in his State of the Union address that 3-D printing may be the next big thing in manufacturing. What he didn't say is that 3-D printing may also be the next big thing in intellectual property disputes.
Judges Weigh Delaware Court of Chancery's Arbitration Program
Jeff Mordock : Delaware Business Court Insider : May 17, 2013
Three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, asked to consider the constitutionality of the Delaware Court of Chancery's confidential arbitration program, focused at oral arguments Thursday on whether a 2009 statute enacted by the Delaware General Assembly gives the state's Chancery Court judges additional powers to conduct those sessions in private.
Judges Weigh Delaware Court of Chancery's Arbitration Program
Jeff Mordock : The Legal Intelligencer : May 17, 2013
Three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, asked to consider the constitutionality of the Delaware Court of Chancery's confidential arbitration program, focused at oral arguments Thursday on whether a 2009 statute enacted by the Delaware General Assembly gives the state's Chancery Court judges additional powers to conduct those sessions in private.
3-D Printing: The Next Big Thing in IP Law?
Lisa Shuchman : Corporate Counsel : May 17, 2013
3-D printing technology, which makes it possible to create an item by simply downloading a design file and printing it out as a plastic object, is likely to trigger legal conflicts surrounding copyrights, trademarks, and patents.
3-D Printing: The Next Big Thing in IP Law?
Lisa Shuchman : Corporate Counsel : May 17, 2013
3-D printing technology, which makes it possible to create an item by simply downloading a design file and printing it out as a plastic object, is likely to trigger legal conflicts surrounding copyrights, trademarks, and patents.
Third Circuit Wrestles With Chancery's Authority in Private Arbitration Cases
Jeff Mordock : Delaware Business Court Insider : May 16, 2013
Three federal appellate court judges focused on whether a 2009 statute enacted by the Delaware General Assembly confers additional powers to conduct private arbitration upon the state's Court of Chancery judges during oral arguments today to decide if the Chancery Court's confidential arbitration program is constitutional.
Attorney Sanctioned for Using Motion to Air Bias
Brendan Pierson : New York Law Journal : May 16, 2013
A Second Circuit panel has sanctioned an attorney for filing a motion expressing "anti-Semitism in a raw and ugly form" while the attorney challenged Southern District Judge Alvin Hellerstein's approval of a settlement between airlines and passengers who were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Gen. Sherman
Lisa Holton : The National Law Journal : May 13, 2013
Profile of Jennifer Sherman, general counsel for Federal Signal Corp.
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- Covington & Burling
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Dewey & LeBoeuf
- Dickstein Shapiro
- DLA Piper
- Duane Morris
- Eversheds
- Fish & Richardson
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
- Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian
- Heller Ehrman
- Howrey
- Irwin Mitchell
- Jenner & Block
- K&L Gates
- Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Latham & Watkins
- Linklaters
- Mallesons Stephen Jaques
- Moore & Van Allen
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
- Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
- Nexsen Pruet
- Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein
- Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
- Perkins Coie
- Proskauer Rose
- Reed Smith
- Ropes & Gray
- Ruden McClosky
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- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- Slaughter and May
- Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Vinson & Elkins
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
- Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice
