Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Seyfarth Shaw LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Seyfarth Shaw
- Designation: National
- Head Count: 753
- Gross Revenues: $520,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $690,000
- Profits Per Partner: $910,000
- Year Over Year Change: 1
While Seyfarth Shaw has a broad scope of practice areas—from business law to environmental and tax matters—its bread and butter has always been employment and labor law. The Chicago–based firm, ranked sixty–second on the 2011 Am Law 100 with just over $450 million in revenue, handles virtually all aspects of workplace law from defending employers in discrimination, ERISA, and employee benefits litigation, to advising on executive compensation and pension funding. The firm has also created specialty teams to defend corporations against whistle–blower lawsuits and to guide clients on health care reform and compliance.
Founded in 1945, Seyfarth has some 700 lawyers (including 213 equity partners) spread out among ten offices within the United States and one in London. By many key measures it ranks far outside the industry’s leaders: At $735,000 the firm’s profits per partner placed 127th for 2010, and the firm is no chart–topper on diversity (123rd of 194 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2011 Diversity Scorecard, with less than 5 percent of the U.S. partnership consisting of minorities) or pro bono work (ranked 129th of 200 firms in the magazine’s 2011 survey).
But where Seyfarth has stood out is in its efforts to boost efficiency. It claims to be the only large law firm to build a client service model, which it calls SeyfarthLean based on Six Sigma, a business–process improvement methodology made famous by manufacturers like General Electric Company and Motorola Inc. The approach puts a heavy emphasis on data–driven decision making and process mapping, and Seyfarth says it has helped the firm get a better understanding of client needs and desired outcomes while improving staffing, efficiency, and collaboration, while reducing the overall cost of services by 15 to 50 percent.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 60 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 60 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 50 | no change | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | NR | N/A | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 129 | 32 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 130 | 7 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | NR | N/A | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | NR | N/A | Summer programs |
In the News
Locke Lord
: Daily Report : April 5, 2013
Pyrotechnics!
Monica Bay : Law Technology News : April 1, 2013
Kroll Ontrack's demo suite was literally on fire.
The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200
Diane Jeantet : The Am Law Daily : March 29, 2013
Jones Day hires a bankruptcy partner from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft; Cozen O'Connor loses the cochair of its family law practice to Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel; and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan expands in London. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
How one lawyer proposes to another
Vivia Chen : The Careerist : March 28, 2013
What is the most romantic way for one lawyer to propose to another? On bended knees at a swanky restaurant? Under the stars on a horse-drawn carriage through Central Park? No, silly. At a bar convention, of course.
After Iraq, Lawyers Discuss the Way Forward
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : March 27, 2013
In the final installment in our series of stories marking the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, The Am Law Daily checks in with Manhattan prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos, Reed Smith equity partner Jesse Miller, and F. Wilson Myers, a rule of law specialist who appeared on the cover of The American Lawyer in 2008.
MOVERS
: The National Law Journal : March 18, 2013
Thomas Hanley III joins the Loeb & Loeb's real estate department as partner in the Los Angeles office. Plus more law firm movers in this week's column.
On the Move
: The Recorder : March 15, 2013
A weekly report of lawyer moves and law firm changes. Keep abreast of where movers and shakers are going and what they're doing.
Mass. Suit Against Retailer Requesting Zip Codes May Go Forward
Sheri Qualters : The National Law Journal : March 13, 2013
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that retailers that record consumers' zip codes when they make credit card transactions can be sued under Massachusetts consumer privacy law because they're retaining personal identification information.
Outside Counsel Management Category Winner: BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD
: The National Law Journal : March 11, 2013
Massachusetts suit against retailer requesting zip codes may go forward
Sheri Qualters : The National Law Journal : March 11, 2013
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that retailers that record consumers' zip codes when they make credit card transactions can be sued under Massachusetts consumer privacy law because they're retaining personal identification information.
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