Howrey LLP
Encyclopedia
Howrey LLP was a global law firm
that practiced antitrust, global litigation and intellectual property law. At its peak Howrey had more than 500 attorneys in 16 locations worldwide.
under President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
, Bill Simon, Hal Baker and Dave Murchison. It was the first national antitrust firm. It hired its first patent lawyer partner in 1972, and by 1985, Howrey numbered 150 attorneys with a list of clients across the country.
In 2000, Howrey & Simon merged with Arnold, White & Durkee, an intellectual property specialty firm founded in 1956 in Houston, Texas with offices in six cities and 120 attorneys. This combination resulted in the new firm of Howrey, Simon, Arnold & White, with 350 lawyers, one of the largest antitrust and intellectual property practices in the world, and laid the groundwork for the firm’s expansion overseas. Between 2000 and 2008, the firm expanded to more than 700 attorneys and 17 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Howrey provided over 45,000 hours of free legal assistance to more than 250 pro bono clients. The firm was awarded the 2003 Thomas L. Sager Award by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association for its commitment to promoting diversity in the workplace.
On March 9, 2011, the Executive Committee of Howrey LLP announced that, pursuant to a vote by the firm’s partnership, it will dissolve the existing Howrey partnership, effective March 15, 2011 and commence an orderly wind down of its affairs. In April 2011, a group of alleged creditors of the firm filed an involuntary chapter 7 bankruptcy petition against Howrey LLP in the Northern District of California bankruptcy court. That involuntary chapter 7 case was converted to a chapter 11 bankruptcy case in June 2011 at the request of the law firm. On July 6, 2011, Howrey filed schedules of assets and liabilities with the bankruptcy court which listed assets of $138.7 million and liabilities of $107 million.
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
that practiced antitrust, global litigation and intellectual property law. At its peak Howrey had more than 500 attorneys in 16 locations worldwide.
History
The firm was founded as Howrey, Simon, Baker, & Murchison in July 1956 by four antitrust attorneys: Jack Howrey, a former chairman of the Federal Trade CommissionFederal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
under President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, Bill Simon, Hal Baker and Dave Murchison. It was the first national antitrust firm. It hired its first patent lawyer partner in 1972, and by 1985, Howrey numbered 150 attorneys with a list of clients across the country.
In 2000, Howrey & Simon merged with Arnold, White & Durkee, an intellectual property specialty firm founded in 1956 in Houston, Texas with offices in six cities and 120 attorneys. This combination resulted in the new firm of Howrey, Simon, Arnold & White, with 350 lawyers, one of the largest antitrust and intellectual property practices in the world, and laid the groundwork for the firm’s expansion overseas. Between 2000 and 2008, the firm expanded to more than 700 attorneys and 17 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Howrey provided over 45,000 hours of free legal assistance to more than 250 pro bono clients. The firm was awarded the 2003 Thomas L. Sager Award by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association for its commitment to promoting diversity in the workplace.
Partner departures and dissolution
About 60 attorneys departed from Howrey in the year before January 2011, including co-chairs of the firm's antitrust and litigation practices. Winston & Strawn reportedly considered merger with Howrey in late January, but instead offered to take most of Howrey's partners. The firm continued to lose partners as a group of 11 attorneys from Howrey's Chicago office moved to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, including the office's managing partner and the class action defense practice leader.On March 9, 2011, the Executive Committee of Howrey LLP announced that, pursuant to a vote by the firm’s partnership, it will dissolve the existing Howrey partnership, effective March 15, 2011 and commence an orderly wind down of its affairs. In April 2011, a group of alleged creditors of the firm filed an involuntary chapter 7 bankruptcy petition against Howrey LLP in the Northern District of California bankruptcy court. That involuntary chapter 7 case was converted to a chapter 11 bankruptcy case in June 2011 at the request of the law firm. On July 6, 2011, Howrey filed schedules of assets and liabilities with the bankruptcy court which listed assets of $138.7 million and liabilities of $107 million.
Locations
- BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
- ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
- East Palo Alto, CaliforniaEast Palo Alto, CaliforniaEast Palo Alto is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States.-Overview:As of the 2010 census, the population of East Palo Alto was 28,155. It is situated on the San Francisco Peninsula, roughly halfway between the cities of San Francisco and San Jose...
- Houston
- Irvine, CaliforniaIrvine, CaliforniaIrvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
- LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
- MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
- New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
- Northern VirginiaNorthern VirginiaNorthern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
- ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- San Francisco
- Washington, D. C.