Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Nixon Peabody LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Nixon Peabody
- Designation: National
- Head Count: 612
- Gross Revenues: $436,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $715,000
- Profits Per Partner: $775,000
- Year Over Year Change: 1
In recent years, Nixon Peabody has focused on being more efficient and responsive to clients. The firm now offers alternative fee arrangements, has developed a proprietary legal project management program, and even named a “Chief Innovation Officer,” a partner whose job it is to advance ideas to improve client service and develop new business opportunities.
It’s easy to see why Nixon would want to change the system: The economic downturn was a potent, and unwelcome, wake–up call. The firm, which has significant transactional practices in areas including financial services, mergers & acquisitions, and private equity, laid off several dozen attorneys and staff in 2009, and even by 2011—when many other firms were recovering—its net income was below the firm’s prerecession peak. Revenues declined in 2011 and 2010. Perhaps not incidentally, morale among junior lawyers has been less than stellar: Nixon placed 127th of 137 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2010 Midlevel Associates Survey, and eighty–second of 126 firms in 2011.
Yet Nixon has a history of learning how to adapt. It is the product of two major mergers over the last decade and a half. First was the 1999 union of Rochester, New York?based Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle and Boston’s Peabody & Brown, both major firms with more than a century of history. In 2001 it merged with San Francisco’s Lillick & Charles, another century–old firm, but one with a focus on advising companies doing business in Asia. Nixon quickly embraced international work, opening a London office in 2007 and a Shanghai office in 2008, and forming an affiliation with a group of lawyers (now operating under the Nixon Peabody brand) in Paris. If Nixon’s strategies pan out, it won’t just be a more global firm than it used to be, but one that leverages—and prospers from—new ways of doing business.
—Updated 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 68 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 68 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 60 | 4 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | NR | N/A | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 61 | 8 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 128 | 5 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 82 | 45 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 89 | 8 | Summer programs |
In the News
The Score: Proskauer Reigns Supreme Atop Pro Sports
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : March 8, 2013
The same week that Sports Illustrated named Proskauer Rose the most powerful law firm in sports, a Proskauer squad and team representing Kaye Scholer, Skadden and Stikeman Elliott squared off in the sixth annual Ice Hockey in Harlem charity tournament. Meanwhile, a trio of Am Law 100 firms are advising on a $1 billion financing deal to build a new stadium for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.
Today, Asia. Tomorrow . . .?
Anthony Lin : The Asian Lawyer : March 4, 2013
Managing partners, relax. King & Wood Mallesons isn't coming to the U.S. or Europe—yet. It has to get a few things right in Asia first.
China Hacking Report Raises Data Security Alarm at Firms
Jessica Seah : The Asian Lawyer : March 1, 2013
The blockbuster report on Chinese hacking released last week by U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant has focused attention on the security of data held by governments and big corporations, and by law firms.
Personal Notes on Lawyers
: New York Law Journal : February 27, 2013
Polsinelli Shughart, Troutman Sanders, Foley & Lardner and Morrison Cohen all welcome new additions.
Ex-Nixon Peabody Partner Convicted For Role in Ponzi Scheme Sees California Law License Suspended
Amanda Bronstad : The National Law Journal : February 27, 2013
Former Nixon Peabody securities partner David Tamman has been suspended from practicing law in California following his conviction on charges related to a $20 million Ponzi scheme.
Nixon Lawyer Suspended for Role in Ponzi Scheme
Amanda Bronstad : The National Law Journal : February 26, 2013
Attorney suspended for role in Ponzi scheme
Amanda Bronstad : The National Law Journal : February 26, 2013
Former Nixon Peabody securities partner David Tamman has been suspended from practicing law in California following his conviction on charges related to a $20 million Ponzi scheme.
China Hacking Report Raises Alarm at Firms
Jessica Seah : The Asian Lawyer : February 25, 2013
The blockbuster report on Chinese hacking released last week by U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant has focused attention on the security of data held by governments and big corporations, and by law firms.
Helpful Amendments Made to the Pennsylvania Health Club Act
Craig R. Tractenberg : The Legal Intelligencer : February 22, 2013
The Pennsylvania Health Club Act, which governs most types of health clubs located in Pennsylvania, was amended effective September 3, 2012, to permit health clubs to have non-staffed hours of operation so long as specific conditions are met.
Nixon Sees Modest Jump in Revenues, 10 Percent Increase in Profits
Mary Ellen Egan : The Am Law Daily : February 21, 2013
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