Schiff Hardin LLP was a national law firm with more than 300 attorneys practicing out of seven offices nationwide — Ann Arbor, Chicago, Lake Forest, New York, Newport Beach, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.[2] It was a general practice firm serving corporate clients. In 2022, Schiff Hardin merged with Arent Fox to form the firm of ArentFox Schiff. [3]
History
The firm was founded in 1864 as Hitchcock & Dupee and ranked as one of Chicago's oldest law firms. In its early years, it represented the Chicago City Railway Company and Chicago Transit Authority. In 1889, Hitchcock & Dupee gained Northern Trust as a client; the company continued to turn to Schiff Hardin for all legal advice until the Arent Fox merger. The firm acquired its current name in 2004.[4]
Schiff Hardin opened a Washington, D.C. office in 1977. An office in New York City (1991) followed. 2002 brought a suburban Chicago office in Lake Forest. In 2007, the firm merged with Morgenstein & Jubelirer to open a San Francisco office, followed by an Ann Arbor, Michigan office in 2012.
Notable deals and cases
Chicago Board Options Exchange — In the early 1970s, the firm created the legal structure of the CBOE. In June 2010, the firm represented the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated in its approximately $3 billion demutualization transaction, in which the CBOE converted from a member-owned Delaware non-stock corporation to a Delaware stock corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of a new parent holding company, CBOE Holdings, Inc.[5][6]
United States of America v. Conrad M. Black et al.[7] — The firm represented Mark S. Kipnis, the former general counsel of Hollinger International, Inc., in this highly publicized trial.[7]
People v. Harper[8] — Schiff Hardin represented Julie Rae Harper, a woman wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for the murder of her young son, at her retrial. This case generated considerable media attention after ABC-TV's 20/20 program ran a show about the case.[8][9]
Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Woodley[10] — In a case that received nationwide attention, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), represented by Schiff Hardin's Animal Law practice attorneys and North Carolina counsel, obtained a full and final judgment in Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Woodley in a case involving animal hoarding.[10]
