Another high-level – and very similar – priority was the Department`s ability to operate effectively even in the face of challenges. In this context, the report focuses on the two pillars of the departments` main priorities – the efficient and effective delivery of legal work – which, in fact, support the rest, in particular the permanent function of protecting the business. Jones Day is one of the oldest law firms on this list, founded 128 years ago, in 1893. This law firm is known as a funder because it represents more than half of the Fortune 500 companies. Among the best known on this list are Goldman Sachs, General Motors and even McDonald`s. In addition, on average, 12% of legal staff are paralegals, “other employees” 9%, administrative staff 8% and legal professionals 5%. So what are the biggest law firms in America? To answer this question, we`ve compiled a list of the top 15 law firms based on their 2021 annual revenue. Founded nearly 150 years ago in 1873, this American law firm is still in operation and even the largest law firm in the United States with a woman as president. Morgan, Lewis Bockius has 31 offices in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Here are some of the most notable internal leadership changes this year.

When it comes to hiring, developing and retaining top talent, corporate legal departments must compete with law firms and the public sector, even though many law graduates do not consider in-house positions to be their first choice (Figure 5). Many rightly believe that promotions within a legal department can be rare. Increasingly, mid- and senior-level positions are now filled by lawyers in private practice. This mostly one-sided traffic from private practice to industry means that many qualified individuals can compete for an open position, making it increasingly difficult for in-house lawyers to climb the ladder. In Thomson Reuters` just-released 2022 State of Corporate Law Report, we look at how the most successful legal departments will be those who use the momentum of the past two years to actively shape transformative change, how they fit into their organizations and integrate and operate by leveraging external legal expertise. Finally, the report provides an understanding of how other corporate law departments are implementing transformative changes in their own departments so that other forward-thinking department heads and team members can better innovate in their departments to prepare for the future. Allstate General Counsel Michele Coleman Mayes gave an interview to Metropolitan Corporate Counsel in February 2012 on 1. Mayes introduced himself and said, “Our legal department is the fifth largest in the country, with about 500 lawyers representing our policyholders and 130 lawyers dedicated to other matters.” It counts the so-called employee lawyers in its total amount.

One approach to defining a functional objective is to compare business activities and priorities with how in-house counsel spend their time and where they go. Should the legal department focus more on drafting complex commercial contracts for new projects, managing external lawyers to handle mass litigation, or responding to day-to-day requests? The global COVID-19 pandemic forced many industries and organizations into a period of rapid change, and corporate legal departments were not immune. On the contrary, legal departments of all sizes and industries have experienced dramatic changes in workflow processes, strategic priorities, and perhaps most importantly, work environments. In fact, this current crisis has been strong during the year 2021, even as the entire world – albeit slowly and in seizures and launches – enters a new post-pandemic era. T-Mobile US Inc. has hired Mark Nelson, antitrust partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, to succeed former General Counsel David Miller, who assumed a strategic advisory role ahead of his planned retirement next year. Micron Technology Inc. and Juniper Networks Inc. have also appointed new legal leaders, Robert Beard and Robert Mobassaly.

The digital asset space has remained robust for legal hires, as venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz was able to win Latham partner Miles Jennings as general counsel for cryptocurrencies. Robinhood Markets Inc. has hired Benjamin Melnicki, Chief Compliance Officer at Grayscale Investments, as Chief Compliance Officer of its cryptocurrency unit. West Realm Shires Services Inc., operator of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. US has hired Ryne Miller of Sullivan & Cromwell as general counsel. Lyft Inc. has appointed Lindsay Llewellyn as General Counsel, who will continue to report to former lawyer Kristin Sverchek in her new role as President of Commercial Affairs. Lime and Bird, two urban mobility newcomers specializing in electric scooters, have appointed new leading lawyers this year, Sarah Binder and Lisa Murison. Hogan Lovells is classified as a general law firm, but specializes primarily in businesses. Its main areas of activity are: For example, the six-person intermediate legal staff identified in the 2022 Legal Benchmarking Report corresponds to the number of organizations that participated in last year`s edition. However, some companies are making positions more attractive by opening up career paths and upskilling opportunities.

Careers in a corporate legal department typically begin three to five years after graduation and training at a law firm. The firm focuses on corporate and financial law, employment law, regulatory and government affairs, and tax law. High-end Fortune 500 companies that don`t have an ALM list for the number of avocados include WalMart (if it had 2 lawyers per billion as a retailer, it would have over 800 lawyers (see my September 22, 2005 post: Wal-Mart`s Rapid Legal Staff Growth), Exxon Mobil (but Chevron, which had $50 billion less in revenue, has 380 lawyers), and Bank of America (see JP Morgan Chase at 594, which had $20 billion in lower revenue). New forms of collaboration, increased litigation funding and technological advances are changing the legal ecosystem. For example, technological advances are increasing the volume of data to be processed, enabling remote work arrangements, requiring new security measures, and adding technological capabilities to the Department`s talent needs. Ivan Fong will soon leave his position as Chief Legal and Policy Officer and Corporate Secretary at 3M to join medical technology company Medtronic PLC. Phillips 66 has not publicly named a successor to Paula Johnson – general counsel, corporate secretary and chief legal and government officer – who will retire at the end of the year. Ford Motor Co. added former Latham partner Steven Croley as general counsel and policy director, while the North American arm of Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd.

promoted Jason Erb to his top legal position. Corporate Counsel is pleased to announce the winners and finalists of our Best Legal Departments Awards 2020. We selected exceptional legal services and legal leaders who excelled during a challenging year. In addition to analysing data from survey responses, the 2022 State of Corporate Law Departments report will provide information to corporate law departments and their managers who will help them themselves through several analytical and innovative exercises. For example, the report allows departments to compare key indicators such as their legal spending and team size with the most recent data. The report will also allow leaders to see how other departments and their teams are optimizing their legal systems and work processes to achieve greater efficiency for their organizations. Deutsche Bank AG has turned to veteran intern John Farry to succeed Joseph Salama as General Counsel for the Americas. Salama, who succeeded Steven Reich last year, became Deutsche Bank`s chief anti-money laundering chief this summer.

UBS Group AG has appointed Barbara Levi, former leading lawyer at Rio Tinto PLC, as Group General Counsel. The Swiss bank also saw long-time in-house lawyer Andrew Hollenbeck leave this year to become Soros Fund Management`s chief legal officer. There are gaps in my data, but the Allstate division is certainly one of the largest legal departments for U.S. companies. I propose this as a partial list of the largest U.S. legal services. Activision Blizzard Inc., a leading video game giant, has hired former Boeing Co. general counsel Grant Dixton to replace its longtime retired general counsel, Christopher Walther. In times of limited financial resources to attract talent and differentiate themselves, legal business leaders create a more stimulating work environment for young professionals – for example, by building interdisciplinary teams of data scientists, forensic scientists, and external consultants. Many also offer more attractive working conditions, including flexible working hours and part-time models.

Our collection of legal resources is carefully curated for members around the world. Even as today`s legal departments are under pressure from a new wave of corporate litigation, they have skills gaps to fill and must recruit from a pool of young talent who have doubts about working in legal departments. These challenges are not insurmountable, but require a fresh look at the structure and processes of the legal department. Our experience has shown that general counsel can build a next-generation legal department by addressing four imperatives: clarifying purpose and priorities, establishing an evolving legal ecosystem, anticipating and planning litigation, and enabling legal talent to build a career.