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 CCO as an Independent Voice: Another View
Michael W. Peregrine and Joshua Buchman : Corporate Counsel : March 28, 2013
Two McDermott Will & Emery attorneys offer their thoughts on Donna Boehme's recent CorpCounsel.com article, "Making the CCO an Independent Voice in the C-Suite."
Capital Sources: Private equity funds face more rivals in health care
Mike Seemuth : Daily Business Review : March 27, 2013
Acquisitive companies are competing harder with private equity funds to buy promising businesses in the consolidating health care industry.
DLA Piper emails reveal firm overbilled, former client says
Christine Simmons : New York Law Journal : March 26, 2013
A former DLA Piper client who is challenging the firm over fees has filed with the court what he claims are internal emails by DLA attorneys who discuss deliberate overbilling, with one attorney allegedly writing about another's "churn that bill, baby!" approach.
DLA Piper Emails Reveal Firm Overbilled, Former Client Says
Christine Simmons : New York Law Journal : March 26, 2013
A former DLA Piper client who is challenging the firm over fees has filed with the court what he claims are internal emails by DLA attorneys who discuss deliberate overbilling, with one attorney allegedly writing about another's "churn that bill, baby!" approach.
Neeraj "Neil" Verma
: Texas Lawyer : March 25, 2013
DLA Piper Emails Reveal Firm Overbilled, Former Client Says
Christine Simmons : New York Law Journal : March 25, 2013
A former DLA Piper client who is challenging the firm over fees has filed with the court what he claims are internal emails by DLA attorneys who discuss deliberate overbilling, with one attorney allegedly writing about another's "churn that bill, baby!" approach.
The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200
Diane Jeantet : The Am Law Daily : March 22, 2013
Cozen O'Connor snatches six attorneys from Edwards Wildman Palmer to open a West Palm Beach, Florida office; Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough loses the head of its national fraud and abuse practice to Jones Day in Atlanta; and a Massachusetts district attorney plans a move to Nixon Peabody. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
The Am Law 100, the Early Numbers: Down Year Could Push Chadbourne Into Second Hundred
Sara Randazzo : The Am Law Daily : March 20, 2013
Chadbourne & Parke, a charter member of The Am Law 100, is in danger of falling off the list of the nation's 100 top-grossing law firms after seeing its gross revenue decline 5.1 percent last year, to $290.5 million, according to The American Lawyer's reporting. The firm's net income, meanwhile, tumbled 14.4 percent, to $89 million, and its profits per partner slid 6.1 percent, to $1.24 million. Revenue per lawyer, on the other hand, rose 3.3 percent, to $780,000.
Brief of the Week: Retired military brass seek to clarify right of self-defense in combat zones
Marcia Coyle : The National Law Journal : March 20, 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court does not take many military petitions, but 37 retired admirals and generals from all four service branches are strongly urging the justices to review the case of former Army Ranger First Lieutenant Michael Behenna.
Personal Notes on Lawyers
: New York Law Journal : March 19, 2013
A new matrimonial and family law firm has been formed in White Plains, while other firms announce additions and honors.
- Adams and Reese
- Anderson Kill & Olick
- Arent Fox
- Arthur Cox
- Baker & McKenzie
- Buist Moore
- Chadbourne & Parke
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Clifford Chance
- Cooley
- 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
- Shearman & Sterling
- Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
- 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
