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The National Law Journal released the 2016 Intellectual Property Hot List: a special report recognizing 15 law firms that performed exceptionally well in intellectual property. In no particular ranking, each of the 15 firms stood out for handling remarkable IP cases in 2015. Ranging in size, from Biglaw to small, IP boutiques, some firms lead victorious cases that impacted major industries.

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Jenner & Block gained recognition for saving rapper, Jay-Z, who faced a copyright infringement battle for using a sample of an Egyptian composer’s song in one of his own in 2000. Andrew Bart, partner at Jenner, argued and won the case on the first day of trial. The Chicago-based firm also claimed big wins on the patent side for their clients: Hospira Inc., Dow Chemical Co., and Nissan North American Inc. Attorneys at Jenner are now working on new litigation cases over the innovative technology associated with gene editing.

According to the NLJ report, California-based Cooley faced a $500 million patent infringement case representing Qualcomm Technologies Inc. against ParkerVision Inc. involving converting electromagnetic signs from high to low frequency. Timothy Teter, a younger generation partner at Cooley, argued the case, resulting in the three-judge panel reversing the original verdict.

Biglaw Kirkland & Ellis made the IP Hot List, in large part, due to their extraordinary patent litigation team. Kirkland partners, Dale Cendali and Daniel Bond, handled a copyright case for Nike Inc. in 2015. Photographer Jacobus Rentmeester accused the Nike brand of copying a 1984 photo he took for Life magazine of Michael Jorden to use for its famous “Jumpman” logo—a $2 billion brand. New York partner Greg Arovas told NLJ, “There’s really substantial trial work done by some of the less senior people in the department.”

Los Angeles-based Sheppard Mullin, a firm less than half the size of Kirkland, won a unanimous case against the U.S. Supreme Court. Incredibly, the case in point, Hana Financial v. Hana Bank, was one that had not been brought to the high court in almost 100 years. Sheppard also gained a notable win in its six-year litigation fight in Intellect Wireless v. HTC, ultimately resulting in the court awarding HTC Corp. $4.1 million. According to the National Law Journal, the firm’s IP practice has grown three times in size since 2006.

Among the other dominating Intellectual Property firms that made the 2016 IP Hot List were: Covington & Burling, Debevoise & Plimpton, Fish & Richardson, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Goodwin Procter, Irell & Manella, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Morrison & Foerster, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.

See more of the highlights from the NLJ 2016 IP Hot List on the National Law Journal.

Contact Bill Sugarman for more information.

The American Lawyer released the 14th annual A-List: an analysis and ranking of the 20 top Big Law firms. The firms that made the AmLaw A-List cut are the best-of-the-best and are rated according to performance in four key areas: financial success, pro bono commitment, diversity and associate satisfaction.

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AmLaw Second Hundred firm, Irell & Manella, reigns in at Number 1 this year, proving that size isn’t everything, with only 126 lawyers. The Los Angeles-based firm made an impressive leap from the bottom of the list (No. 18 in 2015), due to a significant increase in associate satisfaction and pro bono scores. Kirkland & Ellis landed spot No. 8, slipping from fifth place last year, due to a decrease in the diversity category. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom took 16th place, thanks to the double-weighted revenue per lawyer category. Skadden moved up one spot, despite low associate satisfaction and decreasing diversity scores.

New firms added to the AmLaw A-List this year are: Chicago-based Jenner & Block, Covington & Burling out of Washington, D.C., and New York-based Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Those three firms forced out the following: Hughes Hubbard & Reed, Williams & Connolly, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

Additionally, the American Lawyer announced a list of the next 20 A-List firms (No. 21-40), the Ones to Watch. A few firms on the list made last year’s Top 20 but faced shortcomings in vital areas, forcing them out in 2016. Hughes Hubbard & Reed, previously a Top 20 A-List firm, faced a hit in the associate satisfaction category, knocking them down to Number 21. Chicago-based Winston & Strawn performed well, up from 57th to 34th place this year, thanks to a substantial increase in associate satisfaction.

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The National Law Journal released the very first NLJ 500 this year: a compilation of the 500 largest U.S.-based law firms. This year, in addition to the annual report of the top 350 largest firms, NLJ included 150 more law firms and ranked those into two tiers: “mid-tier” and “on-the-cusp-of-Big-Law” firms.

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Dentons, previously one of the largest U.S. firms, has been removed from the NLJ 500 due to its expansion and large number of attorneys in China. In order to make the cut, firms must have more lawyers in the U.S. than in any other country. It comes as no surprise that Baker & McKenzie is leading the chart for a second year with a mass of 4,363 lawyers.

San Francisco based Farella Braun + Martel just made the cut making them the smallest firm in the top 350. Overall, the smallest firms that made the NLJ 500 were Davis, Brown, Koehn, Shors & Roberts in Des Moines; Goldberg Kohn in Chicago; and BatesCarey in Chicago. The most shocking decline on the NLJ 500 for 2015 was Kenyon & Kenyon’s 29% decrease in head count of attorneys.

For more information, contact Bill Sugarman.

The announcement of the $2,000 per hour lawyer and the first-year associate starting salaries rising to $180,000 has stirred up a largely negative reaction from Biglaw clients, Above the Law reported. After the first-year salary news release, Bank of America’s global general counsel made their opinions very clear in an email that’s become public, “we are aware of no market-driven basis for such an increase and do not expect to bear the costs of the firms’ decisions” (Above the Law). According to BTI Consulting Group, the $2,000/hour billable rate structure reflects a shocking 25% increase from 2014’s highest rates, as reported in The American Lawyer.

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According to Above the Law, the increase of compensation and rates at large law firms will likely open a door for “value” firms, making them more attractive to legal departments at corporations. The technology and tools available today make it possible for smaller firms to have access to the resources that Biglaw can provide to its corporate clients. Social media outlets and digital publishing software play a large role in making it easier for smaller firms or lawyers to make themselves more reputable to a larger audience. The release of these two pieces of news has created an optimal time for small and medium firms to take advantage of impressing corporate counsel (Above the Law).

For more information, contact Bill Sugarman.

In conjunction with the Am Law 100 results, the American Lawyer released their annual Am Law Second Hundred report, which includes data and rankings for the top Second Hundred U.S. law firms (firms 101-200). The 2015 financial report indicated that the Am Law 200 fell even further behind the Am Law top 100. In comparison to the 2.7 percent increase that the Am Law 100 experienced in 2015, gross revenue dropped by an average of 3.2 percent for the Second Hundred firms. Despite the underwhelming results, the top 200 managed to reach a 0.1 percent raise in average profits per partner and a 0.3 percent gain in revenue per lawyer. However, results are still less than impressive compared to last year’s 2.1 percent gross revenue increase.

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The most recent version of the report reveals Manatt leading the Second Hundred with a 6.9 percent increase from last year and a gross revenue of $324 million. Shook Hardy, 2014’s front runner for the Second Hundred, slipped one spot this year and ranked at No. 102. Dykema Gossett experienced the most significant growth, jumping to No. 130, moving up 29 spots from 2014.

See more of the highlights from the 2016 Am Law 200 on The American Lawyer.

Contact Bill Sugarman for more information.

The American Lawyer just released the results of the most recent Am Law 100, their annual financial report of the top 100 U.S. law firms.  Overall, the data revealed only slight increases for the firms overall, with the average profits per partner increasing 4 percent since 2014 and the total net income up by 3.3 percent.  Latham & Watkins claimed the number one slot for gross revenue for the second year in the row, with an impressive $2.65 billion over the last-place contender’s $332 million (Kramer Levin).  The ever-growing Polsinelli tied with Locke Lord for the biggest change in their Am Law 100 rankings, each increasing by twelve spots from the previous year.  And predictably, major big law firms Latham, Greenberg Traurig, Mayer Brown, and Reed Smith worked their attorneys to the bone to claim the most billable hours in 2015, with DLA Piper leading the pack at over 5.5 million hours–an astonishing 2 million-plus hours over the second-place Latham.

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See more of the highlights from the 2016 Am Law 100 on The American Lawyer.

Contact Bill Sugarman for more information.

Mega-firm Reed Smith had a rough year in 2015, The American Lawyer reports–a year that perhaps led to the highly publicized 45-lawyer layoff in January 2016.  According to their annual Am Law 100 report, gross revenue fell 2.5 percent, revenue per lawyer went down by 1.4 percent, and profits per partner declined an alarming 8.3 percent.

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However, global managing partner Sandy Thomas called the results “solid,” and told press that the layoffs were simply an “efficiency measure,” although he also referred to the slumping commodities market, noting that “we are not immune,” (as quoted in The American Lawyer).

Law360 recently released their annual Glass Ceiling report, ranking ten firms above their peers based on the percentage of women in their ranks.  Milwaukee-based Quarles & Brady outpaced the other 300 U.S. firms to win the number one spot.  Quarles is also the only firm on the list to have a female chair.  Akerman came in eighth, and law firm giant Baker & McKenzie took home the bronze.

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Quarles & Brady chairwoman Kim Johnson attributed a variety of equality practices to the win, including an “equal opportunity” approach to promotions, which ensures that a minority is considered for every open position, and simply “making female attorney support and retention a priority,” (as quoted in Law360).

Astor Professional Search president Bill Sugarman quoted in Law360, discussing the Midwest legal market: http://www.law360.com/articles/789064/midwest-firm-falls-victim-to-cutthroat-lateral-market