Chambers USA Ranks Hale and Dorr Among the Top

Download IconDownload Print IconPrint

Chambers USA Ranks Hale and Dorr Among the Top

Firm News

Related Solutions

We leverage technical knowledge, business acumen and legal experience to structure, prepare and negotiate innovative and effective technology-related agreements.
For companies in the life sciences sphere, licensing intellectual property and establishing strategic alliances are critical. WilmerHale’s experienced licensing lawyers shepherd biotech, pharmaceutical, healthcare and medical device clients of all sizes through the complex transactions that make their businesses possible, including a broad range of licensing, collaboration, strategic alliance and joint venture agreements. Our attorneys also excel at brokering manufacturing and supply agreements, contract research and development agreements, distribution and commercialization services agreements, and material transfer and confidentiality agreements. They also frequently represent life sciences clients as they license patents—often the foundations of their companies—from, and sponsor research at, leading academic institutions across the United States and Europe. Backed not only by their own experience but also the deep well of knowledge possessed by the firm’s patent, tax, antitrust and EU competition lawyers, our transactional attorneys are ready to handle even the most multifaceted matters. Our team helps clients protect their innovations, forge strategic alliances, and successfully navigate a complex, dynamic industry.
Our clients in the ever-changing and fiercely competitive hardware, software, IT and services industries depend on us to strategize and negotiate transactions that take advantage of opportunities now while protecting their innovations and preserving flexibility for the future. We structure, negotiate and draft all types of licensing, distribution, product development, joint venture and strategic alliance agreements for these clients, often drawing on the deep experience of WilmerHale’s unique capabilities in regulatory, intellectual property, corporate and tax law. We represent both mature and emerging companies with business models centered around offering software and/or professional services relating to analyzing and extracting insights from large data sets. We frequently draft and negotiate data license agreements, software-as-a-service (SaaS) agreements, website terms and other services agreements in which data is the core subject of the license. We also advise technology clients on big data issues that arise in outsourcing, joint venture and other transactional matters. Our attorneys keep a close watch on internet-related legislative and regulatory developments in the United States, the European Union and elsewhere, and leverage our up-to-the-minute knowledge to advise clients in areas such as data privacy and security, copyright infringement, and export restrictions.

According to Chambers and Partners’ second edition of Chambers USA America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, 23 of Hale and Dorr’s attorneys are “America’s Leading Business Lawyers.” The firm ranks number one in five practice areas and number two in six practice areas.

Researchers from Chambers and Partners—a London-based publisher that produces guides to the world’s top lawyers—conduct over 5,000 in-depth interviews with leading private practice attorneys and key in-house counsel. Rankings are assessed on qualities, including technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness/astuteness, diligence and commitment. The directory lists each law firm along with detailed quotations from clients and peers, well-researched strengths, recent work and a client listing from each practice.

Hale and Dorr ranked top nationwide in 11 practice areas: Antitrust, rated for its “sophisticated team” and its “mastery of complex issues”; Bankruptcy, mentioned as the top of everyone’s list and complimented for its ability to establish good relationships with both the bondholder and the debtor; Corporate/M&A, recognized for its “deep, strong team” trained by Paul Brountas, the “father of the practice”; Employment, described as a “strong vibrant practice”; Environment, known for its outstanding reputation in high-stakes government enforcement cases; Intellectual Property, noted for having the “largest and most developed litigation expertise” and attorneys who are “all well-trained and artful in cross-examination”; Litigation:General Commercial, well-known for its reputation for being “aggressive, real fighters for their clients” and as a national leader in defending IT companies and their directors; Private Equity: Buyouts & Venture CapitalInvestment, admired for its work with technology clients; Private Equity: Fund Formation, respected as a “definitive force” that is also “attuned to the needs of startups”; Real Estate, known for its “strong and active” presence; and Tax, recognized for having “the critical mass and the talent to serve any size of client.”

Along with the firm’s strong practice rankings, 24 lawyers have been recognized as leaders in their fields, including: Antitrust: James Burling, described as “highly capable” and acknowledged by the Bar for being a clear leader, Michelle Miller, complimented for her “great client relations skills” and “high energy”; Bankruptcy: Mark Polebaum, an “excellent tactician” and as described by a competitor, “the man I would send my brother to if his business were in trouble,”Paul Daley, highly admired for his skills as a negotiator, Hall Swaim, an “intellectually acute” lawyer known by clients as “an attorney who is also a very good businessman,”John Sigel, well-regarded for his work on lending facilities and rated an “excellent” counsel for both debtors and creditors by his peers; Corporate/M&A: Mark Borden, specially mentioned by clients as “a pleasure to do business with,”Steven Singer, a “sensible” leader who comprehends his clients’ businesses “to a degree unusual in a lawyer,”David Sylvester, admired for “the superb job he does on high-profile transactions”; Employment: Neil Jacobs, regarded as a “smart guy and a hugely calming influence” in difficult situations; Environment: Rob Kirsch, described as “savvy, and with good political instincts,” not to mention a “careful strategist with top-notch clients”; Intellectual Property: Bill Lee, “the leading guy on anyone’s list for appellate and trial work,” described as “an amazing courtroom lawyer, able to distill the most complex scientific know-how into clear arguments and present it to the judge and jury in an engaging way,” and clients particularly value Bill’s “ability to shoulder an enormous workload without showing stress” and report “he’s a rarity in being able to spot the small things,”David Bassett, according to his clients has built up “considerable expertise”; Jeff Rudman, referred to as “the first name for securities work” and respected for being “effective, talented and ethical”; Private Equity – Buyouts & Venture Capital Investment: Mark Borden, referred to by clients as the “ultimate businessman’s lawyer”; Robert Schwed, mentioned as a lawyer who “boils things down, does not pontificate and will guide you through the decision-making process”; Private Equity – Fund Formation: Sarah Rothermel, noted for her “impeccable technical expertise” in the negotiation of new funds; Real Estate: Joel Sirkin, capable of “seeing the wood through the trees” and thinking of “unique out-of-the-box transactions,”Katherine Bachman, highly recommended for her ability to effectively marry “extreme technical capability with a business outlook and political sensitivity,”William O’Reilly, distinguished as a lawyer who “puts his skills-set to work in trying to solve and not create problems,”Robert Tuchmann, described by clients as “a real big-picture lawyer”; and Tax: Roger Ritt, known for his “quick thinking” and for being “energized by what he does and the complexity of it.”

Notice

Unless you are an existing client, before communicating with WilmerHale by e-mail (or otherwise), please read the Disclaimer referenced by this link.(The Disclaimer is also accessible from the opening of this website). As noted therein, until you have received from us a written statement that we represent you in a particular manner (an "engagement letter") you should not send to us any confidential information about any such matter. After we have undertaken representation of you concerning a matter, you will be our client, and we may thereafter exchange confidential information freely.

Thank you for your interest in WilmerHale.

I Accept Cancel