Winston & Strawn LLP
Encyclopedia
Winston & Strawn LLP is an international law firm with approximately 900 attorneys among 13 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.
, who was joined by the firm's other name partner, Silas H. Strawn
, in 1894.
In the past two decades, a series of mergers, office openings, and lateral hires has resulted in a global law firm spanning 14 offices across the United States, Europe and Asia. Throughout its history, Winston & Strawn has handled many significant, high-profile matters for its clients, including its organizing the Union Stockyard and Transit Company in 1894; challenging the War Powers Act in 1944 on behalf of department store Montgomery Ward
; and representing the Atlanta Braves
baseball franchise in 1966 litigation involving its relocation from Milwaukee to Atlanta. More recently:
The firm's Pro Bono Policy was revised in 2004 to incorporate Winston's 150th anniversary Pro Bono Pledge to devote at least 35 hours per lawyer to pro bono work each year. Winston has provided representation in matters involving community economic development, criminal defense, First Amendment/free speech, contested guardianship, landlord/tenant, not-for-profit corporate organization, political asylum, post-conviction relief in death penalty cases, and public assistance. http://www.winston.com/siteFiles/PracticeAreas/72C932B9121D55A9D2C8155E68B29162.pdf
Among other things, the firm has devoted hundreds of hours helping the Innocence Project
, a nationally-recognized advocacy organization that seeks to exonerate persons convicted of criminal offenses based on DNA evidence. The firm's collaboration with the Project has been immensely successful, involving hundreds of attorneys, paralegals, IT staff, summer associates, and others at the firm, so that more than 200 persons who were wrongfully convicted have now been exonerated.
In 2008, the firm led the Chicago Bar Foundation's ground-breaking "Campaign for Justice," which was a city-wide effort to raise more than $1 million to support the city's 250 public interest lawyers and the 40 legal aid organizations they work for.
Winston & Strawn provides financial support to civic and charitable organizations through the Winston & Strawn Foundation.
Locations
Beijing, China (2009); Charlotte, North Carolina (2008); Chicago, Illinois (1853); Geneva, Switzerland (1993); Hong Kong, China (2009); Houston, Texas (2011); London, England (2003); Los Angeles, California (1999); Moscow, Russia (2005); Newark, New Jersey (2000); New York, New York (1989); Paris, France (1995); San Francisco, California (2003); Washington, D.C. (1970).History
Winston & Strawn LLP was founded in Chicago in 1853 by Frederick H. WinstonFrederick H. Winston
Frederick Hampden Winston was a prominent American lawyer who was one of the founders of the law firm that is today Winston & Strawn. He served as the American Minister to Persia, 1885-1886.-Biography:...
, who was joined by the firm's other name partner, Silas H. Strawn
Silas H. Strawn
Silas Hardy Strawn was a prominent Chicago lawyer and one of the name partners at the law firm of Winston & Strawn. He was also the president of the United States Chamber of Commerce during the early years of the Great Depression, in which capacity he supported the policies of Herbert Hoover and...
, in 1894.
In the past two decades, a series of mergers, office openings, and lateral hires has resulted in a global law firm spanning 14 offices across the United States, Europe and Asia. Throughout its history, Winston & Strawn has handled many significant, high-profile matters for its clients, including its organizing the Union Stockyard and Transit Company in 1894; challenging the War Powers Act in 1944 on behalf of department store Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
; and representing the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
baseball franchise in 1966 litigation involving its relocation from Milwaukee to Atlanta. More recently:
- Defending General ElectricGeneral ElectricGeneral Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
in its much-publicized industrial diamond price-fixing case http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2004/204592.htm
- Representing Luxottica Group S.p.A. in myriad acquisitions, including its $1.6 billion hostile takeover of U.S. Shoe Corporation, owner of LensCraftersLensCraftersLensCrafters is an international retailer of prescription eyewear, and prescription sunglasses, and the largest optical chain in the United States, with about 90 stores in California alone. It was founded in 1983 in the U.S. and has subsequently expanded to over 850 stores in Canada, the United...
, in 1995 and its recent $2 billion acquisition of Oakley http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&refer=news&sid=aR8q4u9zD6kA
- Assisting Barr Laboratories to invalidate a key patent on Prozac in a case Fortune magazine calls "the mother of all patent challenges" http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2001/08/13/308077/index.htm
- Achieving a decisive victory for MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Corporation in the remedy phase of its battle against federal and state antitrust claims http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Past-News/Back-to-Court-for-Microsoft-DOJ/
- Representing the New York Stock ExchangeNew York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
in the GrassoRichard GrassoRichard A. "Dick" Grasso was chairman and chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange from 1995 to 2003, the culmination of a career that began in 1968 when Grasso was hired by the Exchange as a floor clerk...
compensation investigation and subsequent litigation http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/08/business/grasso.php
- Assisting Lear Corporation in connection with the recent bid for the company by Carl IcahnCarl IcahnCarl Celian Icahn is an American business magnate and investor.-Biography:Icahn was raised in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York City, where he attended Far Rockaway High School. His father was a cantor, his mother was a schoolteacher...
. http://www.forbes.com/markets/2007/07/09/lear-icahn-update-markets-equity-cx_af_0709markets20.html
Pro Bono and Community Service
Winston & Strawn was one of the first large law firms in the country to adopt a written pro bono policy in 1991, to become a signatory to the Pro Bono Institute Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge http://www.probonoinst.org/challenge.sigs.php, to establish a well-funded charitable foundation, and to hire a full-time Director of Public Interest Law.The firm's Pro Bono Policy was revised in 2004 to incorporate Winston's 150th anniversary Pro Bono Pledge to devote at least 35 hours per lawyer to pro bono work each year. Winston has provided representation in matters involving community economic development, criminal defense, First Amendment/free speech, contested guardianship, landlord/tenant, not-for-profit corporate organization, political asylum, post-conviction relief in death penalty cases, and public assistance. http://www.winston.com/siteFiles/PracticeAreas/72C932B9121D55A9D2C8155E68B29162.pdf
Among other things, the firm has devoted hundreds of hours helping the Innocence Project
Innocence Project
An Innocence Project is one of a number of non-profit legal organizations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand dedicated to proving the innocence of wrongly convicted people through the use of DNA testing, and to reforming the criminal justice systems to...
, a nationally-recognized advocacy organization that seeks to exonerate persons convicted of criminal offenses based on DNA evidence. The firm's collaboration with the Project has been immensely successful, involving hundreds of attorneys, paralegals, IT staff, summer associates, and others at the firm, so that more than 200 persons who were wrongfully convicted have now been exonerated.
In 2008, the firm led the Chicago Bar Foundation's ground-breaking "Campaign for Justice," which was a city-wide effort to raise more than $1 million to support the city's 250 public interest lawyers and the 40 legal aid organizations they work for.
Winston & Strawn provides financial support to civic and charitable organizations through the Winston & Strawn Foundation.
Salaries, Billing Rates and E-mail Gaffe
In February 2010, legal news blog AbovetheLaw.com reported tips that Winston & Strawn had frozen associate salaries for the second consecutive year, but was increasing the rate at which it would bill clients for associates' time. Several days after the tip about salary freezes, a Winston partner accidentally sent an e-mail to all attorneys (intending it to go to partners only) which indicated that the firm's income had increased. Specifically, the e-mail stated that the firm saw an increase on bill collections from 52% to 58%, resulting in an additional $7 million in revenue.External links
- Winston & Strawn LLP official Web site
- Winston & Strawn on Twitter