Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Winston & Strawn LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Winston & Strawn
- Designation: National
- Head Count: 842
- Gross Revenues: $755,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $895,000
- Profits Per Partner: $1,490,000
- Year Over Year Change: 1
Based in Chicago since the mid nineteenth century, Winston & Strawn boasts one of the nation’s premier litigation practices. The chair of the firm, Dan Webb, is one of the nation’s leading corporate defense lawyers. He made his reputation as a corruption–busting U.S. Attorney in Chicago and as a down–to–earth defender of General Electric, Microsoft and Philip Morris. Winston’s litigation practice as a whole picked up a finalist nod in The American Lawyer’s 2004 Litigation Department of the Year contest, as well as honorable mentions in 2006 and 2010. And it was was a finalist in the 2010 IP Litigation Department of the Year competition, thanks largely to its successful advocacy in patent cases for generic drug makers (the firm’s IP group was also one of the first to expand into new media work).
Yet it is not just the trial lawyers getting all the glory. Winston is well–respected for its antitrust and trade regulation, employment and labor, and trusts and estates work. It’s also known for steering through some hard times in its history, like the recent global financial crisis. While revenues took a bit of hit, by 2011 they had topped the firm’s prerecession peak. Significantly, too, Winston was seeing renewed success recruiting lateral partners. In 2011 it wooed 40 of them, including 19 from the now–defunct Howrey.
Like many of its peers, Winston has been looking to Asia for growth, leveraging offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai (the firm’s other international outposts are in Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Moscow, and Paris). Stateside, the firm has a major presence in Washington, D.C., where its practice includes strong antitrust and regulatory groups (other U.S. offices are in Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Newark, and San Francisco).
Winston has scored above–average grades for pro bono work (coming in seventy–seventh of 200 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2011 Pro Bono Report, with lawyers averaging about 48 hours of annual nonpaying work). But junior lawyers have had gripes: Winston finished near the bottom on both our 2010 (135th of 137 firms) and 2011 (121st of 126 firms) midlevel associates surveys. Consistency, it turns out, is not always a virtue.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 34 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 34 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 25 | 6 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | NR | N/A | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 77 | 26 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 81 | 8 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 121 | 14 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 45 | no change | Summer programs |
In the News
CEIC: the Destination for Digital Investigation
Sean Doherty : Law Technology News : May 17, 2013
A conference on cybersecurity, e-discovery, and digital investigations (CEIC) offers hands-on labs, lectures, and an exhibit hall to develop practical skills in digital investigations and will debut Guidance Software's next EnCase Enterprise product.
Law Firms and Laterals Keep Houston Market Humming
Tom Huddleston Jr. : The Am Law Daily : May 13, 2013
Taken together, Katten Muchin Rosenman's recent move into Houston and a spate of lateral hires shows that a boom in energy-related work continues to attract new Am Law firms to Space City while motivating those already doing business there to bulk up.
The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200
Diane Jeantet : The Am Law Daily : May 10, 2013
Alston & Bird adds four partners to its capital markets department on the East Coast; the vice-chair of Greenberg Traurig's pharmaceutical, medical device, and health care litigation practice has left for Jones Day; and Locke Lord expands its Hong Kong office with five new attorneys. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
Online Television Service Sues to Block CBS Lawsuits
David Bario : The Litigation Daily : May 9, 2013
The declaratory judgment suit claims that CBS is threatening to sue Aereo in other jurisdictions, even before Southern District Judge Alison Nathan, who has refused to preliminarily enjoin Aereo's service, has rendered a final judgment in the New York litigation.
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.
Winston & Strawn
Todd Ruger : The National Law Journal : May 6, 2013
Novak Druce
: The National Law Journal : May 6, 2013
The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200
Diane Jeantet : The Am Law Daily : May 3, 2013
Littler Mendelson hires another batch of attorneys from Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart; Kaye Scholer adds a former New York State Supreme Court justice to its litigation practice; and Davis Wright Tremaine picks up three attorneys. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
Seeds of a Settlement
Anne Stuart : The American Lawyer : May 1, 2013
A decade after Monsanto licensed its soybean patents to DuPont, the two companies signed a second licensing deal. In between came bitter court fights, an embarrassing sanctions order, and a record-setting jury verdict.
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