Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on McDermott Will & Emery
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
McDermott Will & Emery
- Designation: National
- Head Count: 1,024
- Gross Revenues: $851,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $830,000
- Profits Per Partner: $1,460,000
- Year Over Year Change: 2
Founded in 1934 as a Chicago–based tax practice, McDermott Will & Emery has grown dramatically since then—in every possible way: The firm now numbers around 1,000 lawyers, who operate out of more than a dozen offices in the United States and Europe (in China, McDermott has an alliance with a Shanghai–based firm doing business as MWE China Law Offices). It offers a multitude of practice areas, too, with litigation, health care, energy, private client and wealth management, and intellectual property particular strengths. Indeed, McDermott earned honorable mentions in The American Lawyer’s Litigation Department of the Year competitions in 2010 and 2008 (the contest is held every two years). And its IP department—composed of more than 200 lawyers and patent agents—has seen significant expansion in recent years, including the hiring of 25 laterals in 2011 alone.
But McDermott’s growth hasn’t always been unhindered. The firm was hit hard during the economic downturn: It placed seventy–ninth of 84 firms on The American Lawyer’s Recession Performance Index (its annual revenue dropped by a combined $100 million in 2009 and 2010). McDermott laid off 60 lawyers and 89 staff members in February 2009, and an additional 25 lawyers and 47 staff the following June.
Notably—and unlike many of its peers—McDermott maintains a strict policy of not assuming any debt. That, says firm cochair Peter Sacripanti, has been “the major tenet of the fiscal philosophy of this firm for many years.” The firm is known, too, for its two–tier partnership structure, consisting of income partners and equity partners—a setup that can mean big differences in take–home among McDermott lawyers (not coincidentally, perhaps, the firm has been noted for a relatively large number of partner departures in recent years).
On noneconomic measures, McDermott usually scores well above average. It placed sixty–fourth of 194 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2011 Diversity Scorecard (nearly 14 percent of its U.S. attorneys, and almost 10 percent of its partners, were minorities). And McDermott ranked close to the top quarter (fifty–eighth of 200 firms) on our 2011 Pro Bono Report, with attorneys averaging just under 50 hours a year of nonpaying work. As for associate satisfaction, the firm has room for improvement: It placed in the bottom third on both our 2011 and 2010 midlevels surveys.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 29 | 2 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 29 | 2 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 23 | 2 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | 48 | 2 | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 58 | 7 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 64 | no change | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 86 | 14 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 62 | 4 | Summer programs |
In the News
The GC and the Compensation Committee
Michael W. Peregrine : Corporate Counsel : May 22, 2013
There is nothing about the board's executive compensation committee that justifies excluding the one person who should absolutely be part of the process: the company's general counsel.
Q&A: Counsel for Brocade, A10 Discuss Settlement Deal
Vanessa Blum : The Recorder : May 21, 2013
On Eve of Retrial, Brocade and A10 Settle
Vanessa Blum : The Recorder : May 20, 2013
After getting hit with a $112 million verdict in a trade secret case, A10 brought on Irell & Manella's Morgan Chu, whose team came to terms during jury selection Monday.
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.
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.
U.S. Judge in Boston Bombing Emerges as Target for Republicans
Erik Larson, Greg Farrell and Janelle Lawrence : Bloomberg : May 16, 2013
A Harvard Medical School research assistant who went on to serve as a U.S. judge for 23 years now finds herself at the center of the Boston Marathon bombing case, and by extension the post 9-11 issue of whether, and when, suspected terrorists should benefit from constitutional rights.
Calendar of Events
: New York Law Journal : May 10, 2013
Proskauer, Willkie Advise on Ares's AREA Property Buy
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : May 10, 2013
Proskauer Rose's big week in the real estate space continued on Friday as the firm grabbed a role advising investment firm Ares Management on its bid to acquire AREA Property Partners's $6 billion in assets. Proskauer is also handling the $1 billion sale of two Manhattan skyscrapers, as well as a $220 million stadium naming rights agreement involving the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers.
The 2013 IP Hot List
: The National Law Journal : May 7, 2013
These 20 law firms' cases often have billions at stake, and patents involving impressive advancements in science and technology, including groundbreaking pharmaceuticals; the contents of the food we put on our tables; and the ways we communicate with each other.
THE 2013 IP HOT LIST
: The National Law Journal : May 6, 2013
On our second annual Intellectual Property Hot List, you'll find 20 law firms that have demonstrated creative, formidable talent in litigation, patent prosecution and deal-making.
- Adams and Reese
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
- Allen & Overy
- Anderson Kill & Olick
- Arthur Cox
- Ashurst
- Baker & McKenzie
- Brown Rudnick
- Buist Moore
- Cahill Gordon & Reindel
- Clayton Utz
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Clifford Chance
- Cooley
- Covington & Burling
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Dewey & LeBoeuf
- Diamond McCarthy
- Dickstein Shapiro
- DLA Piper
- Dorsey & Whitney
- Dreier LLP
- Duane Morris
- Eversheds
- Fish & Richardson
- Freehills
- Freshfields
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
- Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian
- Herbert Smith
- Herrick, Feinstein
- Hogan Lovells
- Howrey
- Jenner & Block
- Jones Day
- K&L Gates
- Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Latham & Watkins
- Linklaters
- Mallesons Stephen Jaques
- McKool Smith
- Minter Ellison
- Moore & Van Allen
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
- Morrison & Foerster
- Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
- Nexsen Pruet
- Nixon Peabody
- Norton Rose
- O?Melveny & Myers
- Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein
- Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pitman
- Proskauer Rose
- Reed Smith
- Ropes & Gray
- Ruden McClosky
- Shea & Gould
- Shearman & Sterling
- Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
- Simmons & Simmons
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Vinson & Elkins
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges
- White & Case
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
- Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice
