McDermott Will & Emery is an international law firm with a diversified business practice. The firm is one of the largest-grossing law firms in the United States and globally,[3] and its lawyers represent a wide range of commercial, industrial, and financial enterprises.
History
Chicago lawyers Edward H. McDermott and William M. Emery founded the firm in 1934. They were initially focused as a tax law firm, and a corporate department was established in 1941 when Howard A. Will joined the firm. As the century progressed, the firm added capabilities across the legal spectrum, eventually opening eight more offices. By 1984, the firm had amassed one hundred fifty lawyers. Over the ensuing twenty years, the firm grew; in 2004, McDermott numbered over one thousand lawyers.[4][non-primary source needed]
In November 2023, amid a wave of antisemitic incidents at elite U.S. law schools, McDermott Will & Emery was among a group of major law firms that sent a letter to top law school deans warning them that an escalation in incidents targeting Jewish students would have corporate hiring consequences:
We look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses.[5]
Organization
McDermott has more than 1,177 lawyers across twenty-three offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia.[6] It has a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai, China.[7]
The firm consists of multiple legal entities that are coordinated through service agreements:[2]
McDermott Will & Emery LLP – based in Illinois, U.S., with other offices throughout the country and a foreign office in South Korea
McDermott Will & Emery Belgium LLP – based in Delaware, U.S., with offices in Belgium
McDermott Will & Emery RechtsanwälteSteuerberater LLP – based in Delaware, U.S., with offices in Germany
McDermott Will & Emery Studio Legale Associato[b] – Italy
McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP – United Kingdom
Recognition and rankings
In 2010, recognized by The Chambers Global Guide for excellence in numerous practice areas; several McDermott lawyers were ranked as leaders in their field.[10]
In 2009, the Human Rights Campaign named McDermott Will & Emery as one of the record numbers of US companies earning the top rating of 100 percent in its annual Corporate Equality Index.[11]
For the third quarter of 2008, McDermott's Mergermarket rankings included the top 20 for the number of US buyouts, the top 10 for the number of US-Midwest region deals, and the top 10 by the value of deals in Swedish M&A. According to Mergerstat, McDermott ranked in the top 20 for US-announced deals and among the top for US middle market advisors and US private equity advisors based on both value and number of deals.[12][13]
In 2006, The National Law Journal named McDermott one of the top 15 defense litigation law firms in the United States on its annual Defense Hot List.[14] Also in 2006, the firm was named one of the top 10 law firms on BTI Consulting Group's Market Movers list.[15]
In 2005, the firm was named one of the top 10 law firms representing the growing healthcare industry in the United States.[16]
^In France, an AARPI or Association d'Avocats à Responsabilité Professionnelle Individuelle (Association of Lawyers with Individual Professional Responsibility) is a form of limited liability partnership established by a 1954 government decree rescinding the prohibition on joint exercise structures in the legal profession.[8]
^In Italy, a Studio Legale Associato (Associated Legal Practice) is similar in structure to a limited liability partnership. They were first established in 1997 when a law was passed rescinding a previous prohibition on libero professionisti (lawyers, accountants, doctors, chartered surveyors, etc.) forming such partnerships.[9]
^Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Mattu, Ravi; Warner, Bernhard; Kessler, Sarah; Merced, Michael J. de la; Hirsch, Lauren; Livni, Ephrat (2 November 2023). "Law Firms Warn Universities About Antisemitism on Campus". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
