| Lawdragon's 100 Managing Partners You Need to Know |
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| Posted: June 12, 2008 |
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| The firm leaders in this guide were selected through a combination of
submissions from firms and Lawdragon's editorial research. We
contacted more than 50,000 legal professionals for their input on the
lawyers making news in firm leadership. Be sure to click on the "Q&A"
links to see responses to our questionnaire. |
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| The List: |
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He's the undisputed leader of what was once a Top Tennessean -- but which now ranges from Huntsville to Beijing.
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Cesar Alvarez
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Greenberg Traurig |
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His firm has its ups and downs, but he is held in consistent high regard for his management skills.
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Dennis Archer
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Dickinson Wright |
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Breaking barriers time after time, as a mayor, state Supreme Court Justice and managing partner of one of Michigan's most esteemed firms.
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David Baca
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Davis Wright |
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Q&A |
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Tremendous confidence rests on Baca and his views on the importance of community and excellence practice to elevate this Northwestern force.
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He transformed a San Francisco bond firm into a national powerhouse and himself into Mr. Managing Partner.
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Richard Beattie
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Simpson Thacher |
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His extraordinary leadership and vision for excellence, diversity and participation transformed the firm.
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Candace Beinecke
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Hughes Hubbard |
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A top dealmaker who seeks to expand the firm's competitiveness while sustaining its valued culture.
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Led by Bell, this solid regional player has succeeded as San Diego's only major corporate firm still standing.
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David Boies
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Boies Schiller |
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No recount is necessary for the roaring success of his vision of what an exclusive litigation boutique could offer.
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A top Texas dealmaker and community leader, he's brought in dozens of laterals and is crafting regional depth for this firm.
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The latest in a heavyweight lineup of outstanding Jones Day overseers, Brogan is reportedly the best ever.
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Everyone said it couldn't be done, but Burch and Joint CEO Lee Miller assembled a great international platform that increasingly looks like the future.
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William Cavanaugh
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Patterson Belknap |
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Major points for consistent presence on American Lawyer's A-list, reflecting good business, attorney satisfaction and public interest.
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Without peer as a litigator and now firm leader, following the unsurpassed Bob Joffe atop the nation's most elite firm.
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Jerry Clements
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Locke Lord |
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Q&A |
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One of Texas' top trial lawyers is now charged with expanding the firm in difficult times.
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H. Rodgin Cohen
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Sullivan & Cromwell |
Profile |
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You can bank on three things with Cohen at the helm: excellence, profits and commitment.
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Led the growth of a two-man personal injury firm to the top ranks of Florida litigation powers.
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John Daniels
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Quarles & Brady |
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Q&A |
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This much-lauded community and practice leader inherited the corner office following an untimely passing, from which he's working to strengthen the firm.
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Stephen Dannhauser
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Weil Gotshal |
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Broke ranks with other New York elites to expand internationally to 1,200 lawyers in 19 offices while building revnue, excellence and engagement.
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Gordon Davidson
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Fenwick & West |
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Q&A |
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The soul of this intellectually elite firm has sustained it against tremendous national incursion.
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The most widely admired legal leader transformed Latham from an LA runner-up to international heights through management, discipline and vision.
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His firm stands tall among Texas' finest after his strong leadership withstood the Enron embattlement.
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He's just right for his partners, for whom he's created a credible, admirable and profitable platform.
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William Dorris
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Kilpatrick Stockton |
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With Diane Prucino, he is leveraging a Southeast powerhouse into an international platform.
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Charles Douglas
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Sidley |
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Q&A |
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With 1,800 lawyers in 18 offices, he's crafted an international power while earning credit for solving difficult people issues.
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He's introduced the pursuit of laterals to the longstanding extraordinary practice of this top New Yorker.
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His attentive, pragmatic and thoughtful leadership solidified the base of this Hollywood power.
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Martin Evans
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Debevoise & Plimpton |
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He leads one of New York's best, and most balanced A-listers.
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The author of the firm's international expansion has impressively increased both revenue and profits by roughly 20%.
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Steven Fineman
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Lieff Cabraser |
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Q&A |
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Brings the rare ability to herd cats to his role overseeing an exceptional organization of plaintiff class action lawyers.
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Thomas Fitzgerald
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Winston & Strawn |
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With chairman Dan Webb, he is charged with building the excellence of this major national player.
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The phenomenal firm's first associate, Flom was flawless in creating a new powerhouse for U.S. law, particularly when joined in leadership by Peter Mullen.
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The courtroom side of the Dynamic Duo that saw a need and created a new type of New Orleans firm.
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Russell Gertmenian
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Vorys Sater |
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Maintains the Ohio firm as a practice powerhouse through continued commitment to top lawyering.
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Megan Glasheen
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Reno & Cavanaugh |
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This accomplished leader of a small Washington, DC, affordable housing boutique provides a great role model for how to make it differently.
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His vision of a better firm, providing more community service, has driven Hogan's ascent to the top Washington, DC, ranks.
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Andrew Grech
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Slater & Gordon |
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He had the laboring oar in the world's first law firm IPO.
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William Hartnett
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Cahill Gordon |
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He's charged with sustaining the top profits of the tightly held firm amidst rampant globalization.
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Paul Hejmanowski
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Lionel Sawyer |
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Keeps the home fires burning bright as Nevada attracts national firms snapping up the regional players.
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Kennedy Helm
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Stites & Harbison |
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Q&A |
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His leadership and his firm consistently draw the highest accolades among regional, Southeastern players.
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He has the helm of one of California's great regional jewels, which rates high in profits, happiness and client service.
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Timothy Hester
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Covington & Burling |
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Q&A |
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Building on the resurgence engineered by Stuart Stock, Hester leads this Washington, DC, A-lister.
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David Hooker
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Thompson Hine |
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Q&A |
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Respected by the toughest peers in the business for his no-nonsense and selfless approach to creating and sustaining excellence.
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The legendary leader of a great and resurgent firm leads to new profit and impact heights with vision, connections and community involvement.
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Bruce James
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Brownstein Hyatt |
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His real estate development skills now benefit his firm's full-bore Western expansion.
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Gregory Jordan
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Reed Smith |
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Q&A |
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This real deal took a Pittsburgh power and transformed it into one of the world's leading firms, 1,500 strong and counting.
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The audacity of his vision - that a Pittsburgh firm could take over the House of Gates - has created a formidable posse of lawyers nearly 1,700 strong.
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This rising star will take over from the legendary Alfred Youngwood on Jan. 1, after a meteoric rise through litigation.
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He is the key to Wachtell Lipton's continued and unchallenged primacy among the nation's legal elite.
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The managing partner of the Big Easy's top trial firm proved his management mettle protecting consumers in the wake of Katrina.
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William Lee
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WilmerHale |
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Q&A |
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He's divine as a lawyer, leader and community member; it's no accident WilmerHale is so good.
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Robert Lewis
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Lewis Brisbois |
Profile |
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He's among the nation's most effective but least touted lawyers, having created an unbelievably successful firm that fits its clients like a glove.
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Stuart Liner
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Liner Yankelevitz |
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Q&A |
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Created a quality of life firm that has proven highly attractive to Biglaw expats and clients alike.
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After leading his firm to the heights of New York profitability, he faces Act 2: sustaining that in slumping markets.
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Martin Lipton
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Wachtell |
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Q&A |
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And on the second day, God created Marty Lipton, whose notable achievements include the poison pill as well as the staggeringly great Wachtell.
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Robert LoBue
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Patterson Belknap |
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Q&A |
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Managing a firm to all-around satisfaction may not make you rich, but perhaps that's not the entire bottom line.
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Walfrido Martinez
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Hunton & Williams |
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Keep an eye on this son of Cuban immigrants - brought in from a client at the age of 39 to run the firm, which had the third highest laterals last year with profitability and revenue on the rise.
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Peter Martyr
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Norton Rose |
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Q&A |
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This international leader fascinates his peers after turning his back on a UK coalition in favor of aggressive international expansion.
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James McAlpin
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Powell Goldstein |
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Restructuring isn't pretty and demands strong leadership and hewing tightly to a vision embraced by a cohesive partnership.
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R. Bruce McLean
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Akin Gump |
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Q&A |
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At the center of Akin Gump's international expansion, focus on diversity and most recently appellate luster, for 30 years.
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Admired nationwide for his oversight and skilled management, along with Joine CEO Frank Burch, of what is has become one of America's great international firms.
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Achieves the impossible for clients and his partners, for whom he has boosted PPP to nearly $1M a year; that's a whopping 83% gain in two years.
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Michael Nannes
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Dickstein Shapiro |
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Q&A |
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He's as good as it gets for pairing core values and caring leadership to create an attractive, top flight firm.
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Jack Nusbaum
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Willkie Farr |
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Q&A |
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A legendary leader who has transformed the firm's history into a solid path to the international future.
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Paul Pearlman
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Kramer Levin |
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Q&A |
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In eight years, he's increased profits per partner from $730K to in excess of $1.6M and impressively guided his firm to the AmLaw100.
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William Perlstein
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WilmerHale |
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Q&A |
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Powers through the management to keep WilmerHale among the very best firms the United States has to offer.
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Steven Pfeiffer
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Fulbright & Jaworski |
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A great leader of the Texas-DC two-step that is noted for top client satisfaction from 1,000 attorneys worldwide.
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Regina Pisa
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Goodwin Procter |
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Highly admired for a 10-year run leading Goodwin's aggressive national expansion while defining a successful role model for female chairs.
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The Chicago stalwart put its eggs in the basket of this youthful visionary, whose candor and community concern are redefining the firm.
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Diane Prucino
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Kilpatrick Stockton |
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The first female managing partner of a Southeast AmLaw 100 hopes to blaze a trail for others.
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He was right; we were wrong. He built a top tier litigation firm in LA with NY profitability.
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This Haitian immigrant and former White Counsel brings star power as one of the (too) few African-American lawyers in the corner office.
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Peter Riley
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Thompson & Knight |
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Q&A |
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Watch him: he is leveraging a former Texas also-ran into one of the nation's fastest growing firms in profits and business, not to mention vision.
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Peter Rubin
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Bernstein Shur |
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This courtroom force is the Maine reason Bernstein Shur stands tall in Northern New England.
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Philip Ruegger
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Simpson Thacher |
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Set the bar high for elite New York firms in pay and diversification, as well as excellence.
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Steven Schumeister
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Robins Kaplan |
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Transformed the Minneapolis must-have to an AmLaw A-list firm noted for diversity and pro bono while streamlining its focus.
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His 12-year run has seen the firm add 200 lawyers, including a strong NY presence, and add $325M in revenues.
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The longtime visionary who propelled the Washington, DC area firm to a national AmLaw 100 presence.
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Robert Sheehan
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Skadden Arps |
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Q&A |
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Without peer in effectiveness steering a top firm to new heights, he will be succeeded by Eric Friedman next year.
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The transactional half of the Dynamic Duo that shook up the Big Easy.
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Marianne Short
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Dorsey & Whitney |
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Q&A |
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She proved herself as a big-time trial lawyer whose next task is to lead Dorsey over the rough shoals transitioning a regional firm through expansion challenges.
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Robert Shuftan
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Wildman Harrold |
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How does a midsize national firm make its mark? Pragmatic innovation and leadership helps.
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This longtime leader has made Bass Berry the first firm to call for corporate Tennessee.
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He energized one of Texas' top three firms with soaring profits and expansion.
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Jerold Solovy
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Jenner & Block |
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Legends are made of this: courage, community and credibility; he led Jenner to its best years.
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Larry Sonsini
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Wilson Sonsini |
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He came, he saw, he created Silicon Valley law.
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R. Thomas Stanton
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Squire Sanders |
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He's the force behind the expansion of Cleveland's finest to Kyiv, Ukraine and 30 other worldwide offices.
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Brendan Sullivan
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Williams & Connolly |
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He's first among the equals who lead a firm that rates only superlatives.
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He envisioned an intimate regional firm 30 years ago, now one of the nation's most profitable.
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William Thuston
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Burr Forman |
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He brings big business to Alabama and provides great leadership to a premier Southern firm.
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Keith Vaughan
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Womble Carlyle |
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A big bulldog among SE managers who earns wide acclaim for his leadership.
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He's leading one of New York's finest over the shoals of the next generation and globalization.
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Mark Wasserman
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Sutherland Asbill |
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The leader of one of Atlanta's finest has his challenges cut out after a firestorm over associate layoffs.
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Keith Wetmore
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Morrison & Foerster |
Profile |
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Atop the only big San Francisco firm still standing on its own because he made profitability on par with public service.
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Wiley envisioned a top-flight Washington, DC, communications powerhouse, then proceeded to build it.
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Gary Wingens
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Lowenstein Sandler |
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Q&A |
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This new leader of one of New Jersey's finest brings an innovative eye to practice and community involvement.
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Barton Winokur
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Dechert |
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Q&A |
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Extraordinarily respected by peers, Winokur has led Dechert to the AmLaw 20.
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Lawrence Wolfe
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Holland & Hart |
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This Cheyenne, WY resident and natural resources specialist is well suited to lead this true Western force, most recently expanding in Nevada.
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Alfred Youngwood
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Paul Weiss |
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Has led one of New York's preeminent firms since 1999, creating practice excellence and vision that Brad Karp will take over on Jan. 1, 2009.
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Led the transformation of a Boston firm into a worldwide force, increasing revenue eight-fold along the way.
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