K&L Gates
K&L Gates LLP is an AmLaw 100 law firm based in the United States, with international offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America.[2] Its namesake firms are Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, a Pittsburgh-based firm founded in 1946, and Preston Gates & Ellis, a Seattle firm founded in 1883 whose prominent partners included William H. Gates, Sr., the attorney, philanthropist, and father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Kirkpatrick & Lockhart merged with Preston Gates in 2007 to form K&L Gates, LLP.
No. of offices | 45 |
---|---|
No. of attorneys | 1800 (approx.)[1] |
Major practice areas | General practice |
Key people | James Segerdahl (global managing partner), Michael Caccese (chairman, management committee) |
Revenue | |
Date founded | 1883 (Seattle, U.S.A.) |
Company type | Limited Liability Partnership |
Website | www.klgates.com |
Measured by headcount, it was the 12th largest law firm in the United States in 2018.[3][4] The firm delivers legal services at both an individual office level and through nine broad firmwide practice areas: Corporate and Transactional; Energy, Infrastructure and Resources; Finance; Financial Services; Intellectual Property; Labor, Employment and Workplace Safety; Litigation and Dispute Resolution; Real Estate; and Regulatory and Policy, each of which also include a number of subject matter and industry-based practice groups.[5]
Corporate governance
As of March 2017, the leaders of K&L Gates are James Segerdahl (global managing partner) and Michael Caccese (chairman, management committee).[6]
History
- 1883: Preston Gates & Ellis is founded in Seattle,[7] emerging out of the private law offices of Harold Preston.
- 1946: Pittsburgh-based Kirkpatrick & Lockhart is founded[8]
- 2005: Kirkpatrick & Lockhart and Nicholson Graham & Jones (founded 1858) merge to become Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham[9]
- 2007: On January 1, K&L Gates is formed in a merger between Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham and Preston Gates & Ellis to form Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis.[10] The name was later shortened to K&L Gates.
- 2008: In January, K&L Gates combined with Hughes & Luce, a Dallas-based firm of 150 attorneys with offices in Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth
- 2008: In July K&L Gates combined with Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman LLP, a North Carolina-based firm of 200 attorneys with offices in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Research Triangle Park.[11]
- March 1, 2009: K&L Gates merged with Bell, Boyd & Lloyd, a Chicago-based firm with approximately 215 attorneys with offices in Chicago, San Diego and Washington, D.C.
- 2013: K&L Gates combined with Australian national firm Middletons with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and Brisbane[12]
Ratings and rankings
U.S. News has given the firm "Tier 1" national ratings in 42 different practice areas, placing it in the top 3 law firms with the most Tier 1 rankings.[13][14] The firm garnered 129 first-tier ratings at the regional/city level across 59 practice groups.[15] Chambers has given the firm a tier 1 national ranking for its Shipping & Maritime Transportation practice, as well as regional tier 1 rankings in: Corporate/Commercial (WA), Environmental (NJ), Bankruptcy and Healthcare (NC), Insurance, Litigation and Corporate (PA).[16]
The firm is ranked #34 in the Top 100 "most prestigious law firms in the country based on the assessments of lawyers at peer firms" by Vault.com.[17]
For three consecutive years (2017-2019) U.S. News has ranked K&L Gates as the top law firm in the U.S. for environmental litigation ("Law Firm of the Year - Environmental Litigation").[18][19] The firm has been named among the "Pacific Northwest Elite" by the website Above the Law, which noted the firm as the "Best Firm for Lobbying Congress in Your Favor".[20]
The firm ranks #41 in the American Lawyer "Global 200" rankings, which ranks firms worldwide by revenue.[21] The legal news site Above the Law ranked the firm number 71 in its 2018 "Power 100" law firm rankings.[22] The Financial Times labeled K&L among the "Most innovative North American law firms 2015: Compliance & technology".[23]
K&L Gates received a 100% rating in the 2018 Corporate Equality Index compiled by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, an LGBT advocacy group.[24] In 2016 the Yale Law Women organization included K&L Gates in the top ten family-friendly law firms.[25] Vault.com has described the firm's “great work-life balance” and "pleasant culture" while also noting a "lack of transparency" at the firm.[26]
Projects
In 2012 K&L Gates represented Carnegie Mellon University in a patent suit resulting in a jury verdict awarding $1.17B to the university, one of the largest such verdicts at the time.[27]
In September 2014, K&L Gates founded the "Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project". The project initially involves about fifty K&L lawyers working pro bono to assist about 100 victims of "revenge porn". According to the New York Times, the project is believed to be first of its kind at a major United States law firm.[28] By 2016, the project has aided hundreds of victims and has led to a handful of arrests.[29] In April 2017 the project secured an $8.9 million jury award for a King County couple, reportedly the largest award for non-celebrity targets of "revenge porn" to date.[30][31]
In 2016, K&L Gates awarded a $10 million grant to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to establish the "K&L Gates Endowment for Ethics and Computational Technologies". This new research center is to explore the ethics of artificial intelligence and establish a biennial conference. The firm has provided legal services to CMU for decades; K&L Gates Chairman Emeritus Charles J. Queenan Jr. once chaired CMU's Board of Trustees.[32][33]
In 2017, K&L Gates announced it would create its own blockchain.[34]
Political contributions
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, K&L Gates was one of the law firms contributing the most to federal candidates during the 2012 election cycle, donating $1.09 million, 52% to Democrats.[35][36] By comparison, during that same period Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld donated $2.56 million, 66% to Democrats,[35] while oil conglomerate ExxonMobil donated $2.66 million, 88% to Republicans.[37] Since the 1990 election cycle, K&L Gates contributed nearly $12.9 million to federal campaigns, and spent $1.25 million on lobbying since 1999.[38]
Notable lawyers and alumni
The following attorneys were affiliated with K&L Gates and its immediate predecessor firms, including, e.g., Preston Gates & Ellis; Nicholson Graham & Jones; Kennedy Covington; Hughes & Luce; Bell, Boyd & Lloyd; and Middletons:
- Bart Gordon, former twelve-term U.S. Congressman
- Betty Binns Fletcher, United States Circuit Judge of the San Francisco-based United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit between 1979 and 2012. First woman partner of Preston Gates & Ellis (which merged to become K&L Gates).
- Ignasi Guardans, former Spanish and European Member of Parliament
- J. Nicholas Ranjan, Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
- Bill Neukom, former American Bar Association president and managing partner of the San Francisco Giants[39]
- Dick Thornburgh, former Attorney General of the United States and two-term Governor of Pennsylvania[40][41][42]
- Eric Schneiderman, the former New York Attorney General[43]
- Jack Abramoff, former lobbyist, writer[44][45]
- James T. Walsh, longtime U.S. Representative from Syracuse, New York[46]
- John Michael McHugh, United States Secretary of the Army, nominated by President Barack Obama
- Michael S. Greco, former American Bar Association president[47]
- Michael C. Ormsby, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington
- Neal Brendel, former player and chairman of USA Rugby, founder of firm's Dubai office[48]
- Rick Santorum, former two-term U.S. Representative, former two-term U.S. Senator and 2012 Republican presidential candidate[49][50]
- Robert William Davis, longtime US Representative from Michigan
- Slade Gorton, former two-term U.S. senator[51][52]
- William H. Gates, Sr, attorney and philanthropist. One of the founders of Preston Gates & Ellis[53] (which merged to become K&L Gates). He is the father of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
References
- http://www.klgates.com/places/
- "K". Law.com. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- "Law360 Reveals the 400 Largest US Firms". Law360. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- http://www.klgates.com/aboutus/xpqGC.aspx?xpST=AboutUsGeneral&key=ec9cb923-6322-4cc9-838c-bda359f6626e&activeEntry=7cc28745-1d6a-44fc-8d41-33be565591ac
- "As K&L grows, it takes two to fill Kalis' shoes," Pittsburgh Business Times, Sept. 23, 2016, http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2016/09/23/as-k-l-grows-it-takes-two-to-fill-kalis-shoes.html
- Riggio, Jim (3 November 2005). "Former Congressman, Judge James Rogan Joins Orange County Firm". Metropolitan News Enterprise. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- "K&L Gates". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
- "Kalis to step down as chairman of K&L Gates". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- James, Andrea (14 December 2006). "Preston Gates & Ellis OKs merger". Seattle Pi. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- "Press release from K&L Gates". Archived from the original on 2008-07-14. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- Journal, A. B. A. "The Rise of the Megafirm". ABA Journal. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "K&L Gates - Rankings". bestlawfirms.usnews.com. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- "Firm Overview | About | K&L Gates". www.klgates.com. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- "K&L Gates - Firm Overview". bestlawfirms.usnews.com. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- Square, No 3 Waterhouse; Holborn, 138; London; Kingdom, United; Www.chambers-Associate.com, Partners co uk. "K&L Gates - The Inside View". www.chambers-associate.com. Retrieved 2019-03-14.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- "Most Prestigious Law Firms|Vault.com". Vault. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- "K&L Gates - Rankings". U.S. News. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- "K&L Gates - Firm Overview". bestlawfirms.usnews.com. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- Dalton, Brian. "The Pacific Northwest Elite: The Go-To Cascadia Law Firms". Above the Law. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- "K". Law.com. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- "2018 Power 100 Law Firm Rankings". Above the Law. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- "Innovative Lawyers - Financial Times". Financial Times. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- "Local companies earn perfect score on LGBTQ index". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- "These 10 law firms are ranked the most family-friendly". ABA Journal. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- "K&L Gates LLP|Company Profile|Vault.com". Vault. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- Mouawad, Jad (2012-12-26). "Marvell Ordered to Pay $1.17 Billion in Patent Case". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- Goldstein, Matthew (29 January 2015). "Law Firm Founds Project to Fight 'Revenge Porn'". New York Times. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- "Miami lawyers' project helps online victims of revenge porn". Miami Herald. 28 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- "King County couple awarded $8.9M revenge porn verdict". seattlepi.com. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- "How One Woman's Digital Life Was Weaponized Against Her". Wired. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- Markoff, John (1 November 2016). "New Research Center to Explore Ethics of Artificial Intelligence". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- Aupperlee, Aaron (2 November 2016). "K&L Gates gives $10M to CMU to study ethics of AI". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- "K&L Gates to implement private blockchain". ABA Journal. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- "Lawyers & Lobbyists: Top Contributors to Federal Candidates, Parties, and Outside Groups". OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics.
- "K&L Gates Recipients Among Federal Candidates, 2012 Cycle Total: $1,093,069". OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- "Energy/Natural Resources: Top Contributors to Federal Candidates, Parties, and Outside Groups". OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- "Organizations: K&L Gates". OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
- ABA Journal ABA President to Replace Magowan as Managing Partner of San Francisco Giants
- Thornburgh Shares Lessons From Three Mile Island Crisis
- "K&L Gates - People - Dick Thornburgh". Archived from the original on 2014-04-05. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
- "Testimony of Dick Thornburgh, Former Attorney General of the United States, Counsel, K&L Gates LLP" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
- Eric Schneiderman
- Nelson, Robert T. (January 27, 1995). "Democratic Firm Learns To Do Business With New Congress". The Seattle Times.
- Postman, David; Bernton, Hal (2006-02-07). "How scheming lobbyist operated in Seattle firm". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
- The Hill, Lobbying World ("Jim Walsh has joined K&L Gates as a government affairs counselor")
- K&L Gates - People - Michael S. Greco
- Neal Brendel
- 10 Things You Didn't Know About Rick Santorum
- 9 Things You Need to Know About Rick Santorum
- Congress is on a health-reform path that will raise premiums
- K&L Gates - People - K&L Gates
- http://support.wilsoncenter.org/page.aspx?pid=429