Law360 Ranks Global 20 Law Firms

NEW YORK, May 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Law360 (www.law360.com), a publisher of litigation news and intelligence, announced today that it has published its ranking of the Global 20 law firms that stand out for their preeminent international practices.

During the next several weeks, Law360 will profile these firms that landed a spot on the Law360 Global 20.  These firms are, in descending order:

1. DLA Piper

2. Baker & McKenzie LLP

3. Norton Rose Group

4. Clifford Chance LLP

5. White & Case LLP

6. Hogan Lovells

7. Linklaters LLP

8. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

9. Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP

10. Shearman & Sterling LLP

11. Jones Day

12. Mayer Brown LLP

13. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

14. Latham & Watkins LLP

15. Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

16. Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP

17. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP

18. K&L Gates LLP

19. Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker LLP

20. Reed Smith LLP

"The firms selected for the Law360 Global 20 list have been aggressive in expanding beyond the borders of their home countries and answering their clients' call for multi-jurisdictional know-how," said Magnus Hoglund, Law360's co-founder.

While the economic crisis forced brutal cutbacks for most firms, Law360's Global 20 firms continued to expand into nearly every corner of the world, opening offices in Asia, Africa, South America, Europe and the Middle East, as well as at home. Its top three firms have at least 70 percent of their attorneys stationed outside of the firm's home country, and together boast 120 international offices in more than 40 countries.

To arrive at the Global 20, Law360 ranked each firm in five categories: the number of countries where the firm has offices, the number of offices outside the firm's home country, the percentage of attorneys working outside the firm's home country, the breadth of the firm's international work, and the size and complexity of the firm's cross-border work.

While each firm's path toward becoming a global powerhouse was undoubtedly unique, the firms that made the list had one thing in common: a wide range of sophisticated cross-border work — from international trade and antitrust to structured finance and intellectual property work.

Law360's Global 20 firms are at the forefront of developing cross-discipline, multi-jurisdictional practices to help clients deal with aggressive efforts by enforcement agencies worldwide to probe alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act breaches by multinational clients, bringing to bear expertise in areas that include competition and securities law.

These powerhouses are also called upon to handle groundbreaking global transactions of incredible complexity that demand the expertise of lawyers from dozens of offices across multiple practice areas, from advising Deutsche Borse AG in its merger with NYSE Euronext to create the world's largest exchange for stocks and derivatives, to China-based Zhejiang Geely's acquisition of Swedish automaker Volvo Car Corp. — the largest international deal by a privately held Chinese company to date.

The firms are also international leaders in defending government agencies in international arbitration proceedings, including representing the Turkish Ministry of Transportation over the termination of one of the largest transportation infrastructure projects in the world, and stepping up to the plate for companies in high-stakes trade disputes, such as the Chinese tire feud with the U.S.

Whether the problem is near or far, these 20 law firms have the resources and reach to get the job done.

About Law360

Founded in 2003, Law360 (www.law360.com) is a publisher of news and data for litigators, and one of the fastest-growing media companies in the U.S. The company covers late-breaking news on high-stakes litigation across every spectrum of business law. With daily news and litigation reports in 20 major practice areas, the news and data platform keep well over 100,000 attorneys at more than 1,400 organizations abreast of key developments from courtrooms around the country. In addition to the company's team of reporters and editors in New York City, Law360 correspondents also cover developments from courtrooms in Washington, D.C.; Wilmington, Delaware; Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

With virtually real-time streaming of data from 300,000 active federal cases, the Law360 Data platform tracks litigation developments at more than 10,000 companies and law firms. Advanced search functionalities and customized alerts allow users to drill down to very specific types of litigation news and legal documents. Subscribers include each of the top 100 law firms, hundreds of U.S. and international corporations, and major federal and state agencies.

SOURCE Law360