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Reed Smith

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Reed Smith LLP
Reed Smith
No. of offices28
No. of attorneys1,700+
Major practice areasFinance, Life Sciences & Health, Energy & Natural Resources, Entertainment & Media, Shipping & Transportation
RevenueIncrease $1.12 billion (2018)[1]
Profit per equity partnerIncrease $1.2 million (2018)[1]
Date founded1877 (Pittsburgh)
FounderPhilander Knox and James Hay Reed
Company typeLimited liability partnership
WebsiteReedSmith.com

Reed Smith LLP is a global law firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with more than 1,700 lawyers in 28 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.[2] It is one of the most prestigious and selective law firms in the world. In 2018 and 2017, Reed Smith was listed by market analysts Law360 and BTI Consulting as one of the 20 elite global law firms, a list which includes firms that have the biggest global presence and handle the largest, most groundbreaking international and cross-border matters.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] The firm also retained its position as one of the 20 world's strongest law firm brands in the 2018 Acritas Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index.[8] In a Litigation 2019 Report by BTI Consulting the firm was named a "Litigation Powerhouse". Reed Smith was repeatedly listed as one of America's Best Corporate Law Firms.[9] [10]

In 2018, revenues at Reed Smith reached $1.12 billion. Profits per partner grew 6% to $1.2 million while revenue per lawyer increased by 3% to $722,000.00.[11] Reed Smith's London office is the firm's largest where it is dominating the lateral market and generating the 6th highest revenue of all US-law firms in the United Kingdom.[12] Reed Smith's highest-earner in London picked up a profit share of $3.3 million (£2.5 million) over 2017, increasing by nearly 9 per cent over the last financial year.[13] According to market analyst Adviser Rankings the total market capitalization of Reed Smith's stock market clients in the United Kingdom is the third highest of all US-law firms.[14]

History

Reed Smith was founded in Pittsburgh in 1877 by Philander C. Knox and James H. Reed.[15] The two partners soon created a symbiotic relationship with the American industrial tycoon, Andrew Carnegie, the creator of U.S. Steel, the world's first billion-dollar corporation. Soon after, other large businesses and wealthy personalities such as Heinz (company), Andrew Mellon (now The Bank of New York Mellon) and Henry Clay Frick joined the firm's client roster. In the 1880s, Edwin W. Smith and other partners joined the firm and in 1922 the firm adopted the name Reed Smith Shaw & McClay, a name that would stand until being shortened in 2000. During the New Deal era, Reed Smith established a securities practice and partner Ralph H. Demmler became chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.[15]

Reed Smith's New York offices at 599 Lexington Avenue

Through 1970 to the present, the firm engaged in a series of strategic mergers & acquisitions, as well as new offices, to create one of the largest law firms in the world. In the 1970s, Reed Smith domestically grew with new offices beyond Pittsburgh. It set up an office in Washington, DC and in 1989, merged with Beltway firm Pierson, Ball & Dowd, thereby obtaining a well-regarded health care practice. Reed Smith opened new offices in New York and New Jersey in the 1990s and acquired a leading Northern Virginia firm, Hazel & Thomas.

During the 2000s Reed Smith experienced rapid international growth, both organically and through mergers. Acquiring the UK law firm Warner Cranston turned Reed Smith transatlantic in 2001 and opened offices in Paris and Munich four years later.[16] Domestically, it opened an office in Delaware and combined with a California law firm, Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May, which moved the firm to a rank among the 20 largest law firms.[15] In 2007 Reed Smith merged with UK law firm, Richards Butler, which added offices in France, Greece, the Middle East and Hong Kong one year later.[17]

The firm now counsels 13 of the world's 15 largest commercial and savings banks; 25 of the world's 35 largest oil and gas companies; and the world's three largest pharmaceutical distribution and wholesale companies. Reed Smith's shipping practice has been designated among the most preeminent in the world, and its advertising law practice is regarded as among the legal industry's finest.[18]

Reed Smith opened their second German office in 2015 in Frankfurt, Germany's financial center, to meet growing client demand in the German market.[19]

Reed Smith's offices at Three Logan Square in Philadelphia

In 2016, Reed Smith entered into a formal alliance with Singapore firm Resource Law.[20] A year later in 2017 the firm opened a new office in Miami, strengthening their connections to clients in Central and South America.[21]

On April 30th, 2018 Reed Smith hired Lewis Zirogiannis (General Electric's former Chief Compliance Officer) as a partner for its global regulatory enforcement practice in San Francisco.[22] In 2018, Reed Smith hired 14 lawyers from competitor Norton Rose Fulbright – a group that will expand the firm's life sciences health industry group in Washington DC, New York, and add a new office in Austin, Texas.[23]

Reed Smith's Pittsburgh offices in the Three PNC Plaza building
Business magnate and one of the firm's first clients Andrew Carnegie

Also in 2018, Entertainment and Media Industry Group partner James Sully was named one of the top 25 lawyers of the year, according to Music Business UK and Centtrip Music’s Legal & Accountancy 50 almanac.[24]

Recognition

According to Chambers USA the firm services clients in all sorts of matters, excelling in certain states across bankruptcy, insurance, finance, M&A, labor & employment and more general litigation. This work crosses industries including entertainment & media, life sciences, shipping and finance, and its full breadth of expertise wins it 43 Chambers USA rankings.[25] Chambers UK awards Reed Smith top rankings for shipping, media and entertainment, commodities, and insurance work, and the firm is also ranked in London for its corporate M&A practice and a score of other areas. It is also rated highly for its shipping litigation and climate change work by Chambers Global.[26]

  • Reed Smith retained its position as one of the world's 20 strongest law firm brands in the 2018 Acritas Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index.[27]
  • The firm was named to BTI Global Elite in 2018, a list of 28 law firms with the biggest imprint on corporate counsel key brand activities influencing hiring and selection.[28]
  • Reed Smith won the i-law Maritime Law Award at the Lloyd's List Global Awards, an authority on maritime news since 1734. The award highlights excellence and leadership in the shipping and maritime industry. In addition, the head of Reed Smith's global Shipping Group has also been recognised as Lloyd's List's top maritime lawyer of 2018.[29][30]
  • Reed Smith was ranked 5th in the Vault Best Law Firms in the Mid-Atlantic ranking.[31]
  • In 2018, the firm has been ranked 25th in the AmLaw 100, a list analyzing the financial health of the 100 largest law firms in the US by gross revenue and other key metrics.[32]
  • Reed Smith has been ranked a Top-tier Firm in Legal 500 German 2018 Rankings in seven categories, and 12 of the German partners received recommendations in their areas of specialty in the Legal 500 Germany 2018 handbook.[33]
  • The firm was ranked 6th of all US law firms in London.[34]
  • Reed Smith received 18 practice rankings and 42 individual lawyer recommendations in the 2018 edition of The Legal 500 Asia Pacific.[35]
  • Reed Smith has been named a 2018 Top Ten Family Friendly Firm by Yale Law Women.[36]
  • Reed Smith was named winner of the 2017 Chambers USA Product Liability “Best Firm” award and is also ranked 10th in the United States by media outlet Vault in the same practice group category.[37]
  • The firm has been named Best Law Firm for Global Weather Risk Management in Environmental Finance's Annual Market Rankings in 2018. Reed Smith has retained the title since 2014.
  • In 2017, Reed Smith was listed by Law360 as one of the top Global 20 Firms, which includes firms that have the biggest global presence and handle the largest, most groundbreaking international and cross-border matters.[3]
  • Reed Smith named Private Equity Team of the Year at British Legal Awards 2017.[38]
  • According to the National Law Journal's 2017 NLJ 500 ranking of firms based on size, Reed Smith has 1536 attorneys and is ranked 15th in the United States.[39]
  • Ranked 17th on Law360's Global 20 Ranking in 2016.[40]
  • Legal Week's 2013 annual Client Satisfaction Report ranks Reed Smith #5 in the U.S. International firms category.[41]
  • Reed Smith ranked 8th on the 2013 inaugural "Social Index" of Am Law 50 Firms in survey ranking use of social media technologies.[42]
  • Reed Smith advances eight spots on Acritas’ Sharplegal US Law Firm Brand Index 2014, earning recognition as a Top 20 U.S. brand.[43]
  • Ranked 19th among American law firms with the most gross revenue by AmLaw 100 in 2010.[44]
  • Ranked 1st out of 411 law firms by The BTI Client Relationship Scorecard for building and maintaining client relationships, June 2009.[45]
The firm's founding member and former US Secretary of State Philander Knox

Notable cases and transactions

  • The firm handled the US and EU competition clearance for Hong Kong shipping firm OOCL in its $6.3 billion acquisition by China's COSCO Shipping.[46]
  • Advised United Group B.V. on the $3 billion sale to private equity firm BC Partners from investor Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. [47]
  • Successfully dismissed a $6 billion FCA (False Claims Act) suit from the US Department of Justice on behalf of healthcare provider HCR Manor Care.[48]
  • Advised Netflix in his suit against Colorado Town over sales-tax bill. [49]
  • The firm represented Textainer Group Holdings, the world's largest lessor of intermodal containers based on fleet size, in completing the negotiation and documentation of an amendment to increase its revolving credit facility from $700 million to $1.5 billion.[50]
  • Reed Smith advised Deutsche Bank on the sale of a $1 billion portfolio of shipping loans.[51]
  • Represents Russian company Concord Management and Consulting in the 2018 indictment on crimes related to interference in the United States 2016 and 2018 elections.[52] [53]
  • Reed Smith successfully defended artist Curtis Jackson better known as 50 Cent in a number of disputes including a suit accusing him of stealing content from a third party protected under copyright law.[54]
  • Represented French luxury perfumes and cosmetics house Lancôme, part of the L'Oréal Luxury Products division, against actress Uma Thurman.[55]
  • Represented global financial services holding company The Bank of New York Mellon as trustee or fiscal agent with respect to various bonds issued by governmental instrumentalities of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Commonwealth and its instrumentalities have approximately $70 billion in debt that they cannot afford to pay and are seeking to restructure.[56]
  • Represented multinational financial services company in the largest municipal bankruptcy case in U.S. history in Jefferson County, Alabama, listing more than $4 billion in outstanding long-term debt as of the filing date.[57]
  • Reed Smith represented BNY Mellon to fend off a $539 million bondholder attack against the bank in the Argentina bond default litigation.[58]
  • Represented Toyota Motor Credit Corp. in securing $15 billion in financing through a syndicated credit facility.[59]
  • Advised the Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom) pension scheme on a buy-in worth over £1.6 billion with specialist insurer Rothesay Life.[60]
  • Reed Smith successfully defended Nintendo against a number of patent disputes by Motion Games.[61]
  • Reed Smith successfully defended the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club members, whose alleged lack of maintenance to the South Fork Dam caused the Johnstown Flood, resulting in the death of 2,209 people.
The firm's Frankfurt Office at Opernturm next to Alte Oper
The firm's Shanghai Office at Shanghai Wheelock Square

Notable alumni

Individuals who have worked at Reed Smith include:

Popular culture

The firm is depicted in Laurence Leamer's book The Price of Justice.[62]

Offices

As of January 2018, Reed Smith has 28 offices across three continents. London is the largest office with over 350 attorneys, while Pittsburgh is the founding office.[63][64][65]

As well as numerous offices, Reed Smith has the Global Customer Centre, also located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It houses Reed Smith's 24/7/365 firm-wide administrative operations, including the Network Operating Center, IT Help Desk and the Business Centre.[66]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Reed Smith boosts revenue and profits as London base closes in on $200m mark". Legal Week. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Organizational Profile of Reed Smith at the National Law Review". The National Law Review. May 16, 2012.
  3. ^ a b https://www.law360.com/articles/961879/law360-reveals-the-global-20-firms-of-2017
  4. ^ https://www.bticonsulting.com/brand-elite-top-firms-2018/
  5. ^ "Best companies to work for|Vault.com". Vault. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  6. ^ "Reed Smith LLP - Rankings". bestlawfirms.usnews.com. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  7. ^ "Reed Smith – What The Lawyer Says". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  8. ^ https://www.acritas.com/global-elite-law-firm-brand-index-2018
  9. ^ Group, Chief Executive. "Corporate Board Member Announces 18th Annual Corporate Law Firms Rankings". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
  10. ^ "Powerhouse Law Firms". BTI Consulting Group. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
  11. ^ "Reed Smith boosts revenue and profits as London base closes in on $200m mark". Legal Week. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  12. ^ https://www.thelawyer.com/top-us-law-firms-lateral-hires-london/
  13. ^ https://www.thelawyer.com/reed-smiths-highest-paid-picks-up-2-5m-in-latest-accounts/
  14. ^ https://adviser-rankings.com/law-firms/top-rankings
  15. ^ a b c "History". Reed Smith. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  16. ^ https://johnocunningham.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/reedsmithpdf.pdf
  17. ^ "Reed Smith Richards Butler completes merger". The Lawyer. 2 January 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  18. ^ https://johnocunningham.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/reedsmithpdf.pdf
  19. ^ "Reed Smith opens second Germany office". Reed Smith.
  20. ^ "Reed Smith seals alliance with Singapore firm Resource Law". The Lawyer. 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  21. ^ "Reed Smith opens new office in Miami".
  22. ^ "Reed Smith Hires GE's Digital's Chief Compliance Officer". The Recorder. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  23. ^ http://www.legalweek.com/2018/05/23/reed-smith-grabs-raids-norton-rose-for-life-scienceshealthcare-team-adds-austin-office-378-82465/
  24. ^ Ingham, Tim (4 December 2018). The Legal & Accountancy 50 2018 (PDF). London, United Kingdom: Music Business UK and Centtrip Music. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  25. ^ https://www.chambers-associate.com/reed-smith/true-picture/66079/1
  26. ^ https://www.chambersstudent.co.uk/reed-smith/true-picture/4701/1
  27. ^ https://www.acritas.com/global-elite-law-firm-brand-index-2018
  28. ^ https://www.bticonsulting.com/brand-elite-top-firms-2018/
  29. ^ https://maritimeintelligence.informa.com/events/awards/lloyds-list-global-awards/2018/winners
  30. ^ https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1125082/Top-10-maritime-lawyers-2018
  31. ^ http://www.vault.com/company-rankings/law/best-law-firms-in-each-us-region/?sRankID=12
  32. ^ https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligencer/2018/04/24/ten-pa-firms-make-am-law-100-with-mostly-steady-growth/
  33. ^ http://www.legal500.com/firms/3469-reed-smith-llp/23338-frankfurt-germany
  34. ^ https://www.thelawyer.com/top-50-us-law-firms-london-2017/
  35. ^ https://www.reedsmith.com/en/news/2017/12/reed-smith-recognized-by-the-legal-500-asia-pacific-2018
  36. ^ https://biglawbusiness.com/yale-law-women-names-top-10-female-friendly-firms/
  37. ^ http://www.vault.com/company-rankings/law/best-law-firms-in-each-practice-area/?sRankID=209&pg=2
  38. ^ https://www.reedsmith.com/en/news/2017/11/reed-smith-private-equity-team-of-the-year-at-british-legal-awards-2017
  39. ^ https://www.law.com/law-firm-profile/?id=250&name=Reed-Smith
  40. ^ "Law360 Reveals The Global 20 Firms Of 2016".
  41. ^ http://www.legalweek.com
  42. ^ http://abovethelaw.com/2014/01/the-social-law-firm-index-biglaws-new-media-mavens-2/#more-296346
  43. ^ http://www.acritas.com/SharplegalUSLawFirmBrandIndex2014
  44. ^ "The Am Law 100 2010". ALM Legal Intelligence. 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  45. ^ "The BTI Client Relationship Scorecard: Ranking Law Firm-Client Relationships 2009, Executive summary" (PDF). BTI Consulting Group. 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  46. ^ https://www.law360.com/articles/968679/global-20-reed-smith
  47. ^ https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2018/09/28/bc-partners-acquires-majority-stake-in-united-group-from-kkr/
  48. ^ https://www.law360.com/articles/983780/doj-dropping-manorcare-fca-case-after-witness-discredited
  49. ^ https://www.courthousenews.com/netflix-sues-colorado-town-116k-sales-tax-bill/
  50. ^ https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/textainer-extends-reprices-and-increases-revolving-credit-facility-to-1-5-billion-1027586967
  51. ^ http://www.tradewindsnews.com/legal/1529091/reed-smith-usd-1bn-db-deal-just-the-start
  52. ^ https://abovethelaw.com/2018/05/the-biglaw-firm-behind-the-russian-trolls-indicted-in-the-mueller-probe/
  53. ^ Patrice, Joe. "'Robert Mueller Has Nude Selfies' Is The Headline That Defines The Law In 2018". Above the Law. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  54. ^ "3rd Circ. Clears 50 Cent Of Copying Gangster Book".
  55. ^ "No making up? Lancome takes Uma Thurman to court".
  56. ^ https://cases.primeclerk.com/puertorico/Home-DownloadPDF?id1=NzExMTgz&id2=0
  57. ^ https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/2017/Jefferson%20County%2011-05736%20Doc%20380%20-%20Objection%20to%20Eligibility%20and%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss%20Ch%209%20Petition.pdf
  58. ^ "BNY Doesn't Have To Turn Over $539M To Argentina Creditors".
  59. ^ "Reed Smith Advises Toyota Motor Credit Corporation in $15 billion Financing".
  60. ^ "Rothesay Life completes £1.6 billion buy-in with CAAPS".
  61. ^ "Fed. Circ. Backs Nintendo's PTAB Win On Game Patent".
  62. ^ http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/leamer-book-recounts-how-attorneys-tackled-wva-coal-campaigns-and-cash-687857/
  63. ^ "London". Reed Smith. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  64. ^ "Pittsburgh". Reed Smith. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  65. ^ "Top 10: Largest Pittsburgh-area law firms". Pittsburgh Business Times. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  66. ^ "Global Customer Centre". Reed Smith. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2015.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reed_Smith&oldid=881107666"