Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Proskauer Rose LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Proskauer Rose
- Designation: New York
- Head Count: 746
- Gross Revenues: $736,500,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $985,000
- Profits Per Partner: $1,850,000
- Year Over Year Change: 3
While the 660–plus lawyers of Proskauer Rose handle a wide range of legal issues, the firm’s marquee practice has long been employment law. Proskauer was a finalist for The American Lawyer’s 2012 Labor and Employment Litigation Department of the Year award for its work on behalf of clients including Time Warner Cable Inc. and the McGraw–Hill Companies, Inc. Proskauer’s sports law department is also a signature practice: The firm is primary labor counsel to all five national sports leagues (baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer) and handles everything from collective bargaining agreements and TV rights to legal issues involving stadium construction and snack bar sales.
Founded in 1875 in New York, Proskauer—which ranked thirty–eighth on the 2011 Am Law 100 with $645 in revenue—now counts 160 equity partners and has offices in 12 locations, including Hong Kong, London, Paris, São Paulo, Brazil, and Beijing. Health care law, entertainment law, bankruptcy, and tax are other focal points for the firm.
In nonfinancial metrics Proskauer turns in an uneven performance. Summer associates, for example, give the firm good marks, placing it twelfth of 108 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2011 satisfaction survey. But full–time associates aren’t as quick with the praise, ranking Proskauer eightieth of 137 firms in 2010 and seventy–sixth of 126 firms in 2011. Nor is diversity the firm’s strongest suit: It ranked one–hundreth of 194 firms in 2011, with minorities making up just over 5 percent of U.S. partners. The news is better on the pro bono front, however: Proskauer placed forty–fifth of 200 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2011 Pro Bono Report, with lawyers averaging nearly 63 hours per year.
Proskauer was also one of relatively few firms to see its gross revenues inch upward during the recession, though it did let go of several dozen associates. Profits per partner, which did a small bit of see–sawing between $1.4 and $1.5 million during 2008–10, jumped a solid 9 percent to $1.7 million in 2011. “It was by far the strongest year we’ve ever had from every measure,” says firm chair Joseph Leccese. Among the highlights were, no surprise, labor and sports work. The firm represented Major League Baseball on its new collective bargaining agreement, worked on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bankruptcy, and assisted the Pacific–12 in the creation of a TV network dedicated to broadcasting the conference’s athletic contests.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 36 | 3 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 36 | 3 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 55 | 1 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | 35 | no change | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 45 | 17 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 110 | 10 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 76 | 4 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 12 | 28 | Summer programs |
In the News
Am Law 100 Trio Lead on $1 Billion in Property Sales
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : May 9, 2013
Real estate firm Hines has announced the sale of Manhattan office buildings at 425 Lexington Avenue and 499 Park Avenue to JPMorgan Asset Management and American Realty Advisors, respectively, for a combined total of more than $1 billion. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's recent renewal of a lease for 595,000 square feet of space at 425 Lexington was a key factor in the sale of the office tower.
When Employment Law Meets Legalized Marijuana
Scott A. Faust and Vanessa D. Gilbreth : Corporate Counsel : May 9, 2013
Despite the legalization of marijuana at the state level, marijuana is still illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act. The continuously developing state marijuana laws and their conflict with federal law raise a host of questions for employers.
VOLS Firms Meet Pro Bono 2012 Pledge
Bill Lienhard : New York Law Journal : May 3, 2013
Obituary: George Gallantz
Tania Karas : New York Law Journal : April 29, 2013
George Gallantz, the "founding father" of Proskauer Rose's sports law practice who was instrumental in the merger of the National Basketball Association with the American Basketball Association, died on April 24, the day after his 100th birthday.
Former Dewey Chairman to Pay $500,000 to Avert Future Claims
Sara Randazzo : The Am Law Daily : April 25, 2013
Former Dewey & LeBoeuf chairman Steven Davis has agreed to pay the bankrupt firm's estate more than $500,000 as part of a broader settlement that is expected to insulate him from most future claims related to his alleged mismanagement of Dewey.
Perkins Coie's Double Identity
Drew Combs : The American Lawyer : April 25, 2013
In fits and starts, the Seattle-based firm saw the benefits of going national.
Bombing Prosecutor Is Ready For Spotlight
Greg Farrell : Bloomberg : April 24, 2013
The capture and charging of suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev shifts attention from the manhunt to the prosecution by U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz in one of the biggest terrorism cases since the trial of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh two decades ago.
Ex-Dewey Chair Davis Settles Mismanagement Claims
Sara Randazzo : The Am Law Daily : April 23, 2013
Steven Davis—one of three former Dewey & LeBoeuf leaders often faulted for causing the firm's collapse—has agreed to pay the Dewey estate more than half a million dollars to resolve allegations that his stewardship was indeed to blame. Dewey insurers, meanwhile, have agreed to contribute $19 million to the estate.
Citizens Bank Wins FLSA Jury Verdict in Western District
Saranac Hale Spencer : The Legal Intelligencer : April 23, 2013
Citizens Bank dodged a multimillion-dollar bullet when a federal jury in Pittsburgh agreed with its designation of assistant branch managers as salaried employees not eligible for overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200
Diane Jeantet : The Am Law Daily : April 23, 2013
K&L Gates adds two partners in Charleston; former Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough partners join Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton in Atlanta; and the New York office of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton welcomes nine new attorneys, including three partners. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
- Allen & Overy
- Andrews Kurth
- Ashurst
- Bingham McCutchen
- Bracewell & Giuliani
- Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Covington & Burling
- Crowell & Moring
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Denton Wilde Sapte
- Dewey & LeBoeuf
- Downey Brand
- Duane Morris
- Freehills
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
- Goulston & Storrs
- Herbert Smith
- Hogan Lovells
- Holland & Knight
- Husch Blackwell
- Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro
- Jones Day
- K&L Gates
- Katten Muchin Rosenman
- Keker & Van Nest
- Kilpatrick Townsend
- King & Spalding
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Kutak Rock
- Lathrop & Gage
- Lewis and Roca
- Linklaters
- Locke Lord
- Loeb & Loeb
- Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
- Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
- Minter Ellison
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
- Morrison & Foerster
- Munger, Tolles & Olson
- O'Melveny & Myers
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Patton Boggs
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
- Porter & Hedges
- Proskauer Rose
- Reed Smith
- Ropes & Gray
- Shearman & Sterling
- Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
- Squire, Sanders & Dempsey
- Stephenson Harwood
- Steptoe & Johnson LLP
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Sullivan & Worcester
- Thompson Hine
- Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
- White & Case
- Willkie Farr & Gallagher
- Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
