Nixon Peabody
Encyclopedia
Nixon Peabody LLP is one of the largest multipractice law firm
s in the United States, with offices in seventeen cities in the United States, and in London, Paris, and Shanghai. It has more than eight hundred attorneys
in twenty-five major practice areas. The firm ranks #71 on Vault's top 100 law firms and #64 on the American Lawyer 100.
Clients include emerging and middle-market businesses, national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, public entities, educational and not-for-profit institutions, and individuals. The firm represents clients such as JetBlue, Constellation Brands
, Corning Incorporated, and Gannett Co., among others. Additionally, the firm has represented parties in the financing of new stadiums for the Mets
and Yankees. The firm has nearly thirty teams that focus on specific industries or areas of law.
Nixon ranked 66th on Fortune Magazine's Best Companies to Work for in 2008, the third time the firm has appeared on the list. Boston Business Journal has similarly ranked its Boston office as one of the best places to work in Massachusetts.
, firm that had grown to become one of the largest law firms in New York. It had a strong corporate/institutional practice and a nationally recognized public finance practice. Boston-based Peabody & Brown had a nationally recognized syndication practice and was active in middle and high-growth markets.
In 2000, Nixon Peabody merged with Sixbey Friedman Leedom & Ferguson in Northern Virginia, doubling the size of its intellectual property practice.
The firm expanded into California in 2001 through a merger with Lillick & Charles, founded in San Francisco in 1897. Throughout the 20th century, Lillick developed a strong base of international clients in Asia and Europe, and played a prominent role as advisor to many California businesses. Over the years, Lillick’s practice grew to include some of the leading transportation, financial, insurance, and industrial companies in the world.
In December 2002, Nixon Peabody merged with the 150-year-old Boston firm of Hutchins, Wheeler & Dittmar, adding fifty attorneys in the areas of business, litigation, and health services.
In late 2008, as many law firms have collapsed or announced layoffs, Nixon Peabody declared an objective to double the size of the firm in the next three or four years, a move its global head of finance termed “a necessity for our firm.” The firm has said it will hire up to 100 attorneys from the dissolving firm Thelen LLP, and in October took on 25 lawyers in Paris, a move that led to a legal dispute with UK firm Taylor Wessing.
In February 2009 the firm announced layoffs of 56 attorneys and staff.
In 2009, Nixon Peabody was ranked #67 in the Vault Top 100 Law Firms Rankings.
petition for captives held in extrajudicial detention
in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
.
Charles "Cully" Stimson
, then
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs, stirred controversy when he went on record criticizing the patriotism of law firms that allowed employees to assist Guantanamo captives:
"corporate CEOs seeing this should ask firms to choose between lucrative retainers and representing terrorists."
The anthem was leaked to the legal gossip blog AboveTheLaw.com. The firm threatened blogger David Lat
with legal action if the anthem was not promptly removed from his blog, which only fanned the flames of the story and spread it to the mainstream media.
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...
s in the United States, with offices in seventeen cities in the United States, and in London, Paris, and Shanghai. It has more than eight hundred attorneys
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in twenty-five major practice areas. The firm ranks #71 on Vault's top 100 law firms and #64 on the American Lawyer 100.
Clients include emerging and middle-market businesses, national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, public entities, educational and not-for-profit institutions, and individuals. The firm represents clients such as JetBlue, Constellation Brands
Constellation Brands
Constellation Brands, Inc., headquartered in Victor, New York, is the world’s leading wine company with a broad portfolio of widely admired premium brands across the wine, beer and spirits categories.-History and description:...
, Corning Incorporated, and Gannett Co., among others. Additionally, the firm has represented parties in the financing of new stadiums for the Mets
METS
The Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard is a metadata standard for encoding descriptive, administrative, and structural metadata regarding objects within a digital library, expressed using the XML schema language of the World Wide Web Consortium...
and Yankees. The firm has nearly thirty teams that focus on specific industries or areas of law.
Nixon ranked 66th on Fortune Magazine's Best Companies to Work for in 2008, the third time the firm has appeared on the list. Boston Business Journal has similarly ranked its Boston office as one of the best places to work in Massachusetts.
History
Nixon Peabody was formed by the 1999 merger of two firms that began practicing more than a century ago: Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle LLP and Peabody & Brown. Nixon Hargrave was originally a Rochester, New YorkRochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, firm that had grown to become one of the largest law firms in New York. It had a strong corporate/institutional practice and a nationally recognized public finance practice. Boston-based Peabody & Brown had a nationally recognized syndication practice and was active in middle and high-growth markets.
In 2000, Nixon Peabody merged with Sixbey Friedman Leedom & Ferguson in Northern Virginia, doubling the size of its intellectual property practice.
The firm expanded into California in 2001 through a merger with Lillick & Charles, founded in San Francisco in 1897. Throughout the 20th century, Lillick developed a strong base of international clients in Asia and Europe, and played a prominent role as advisor to many California businesses. Over the years, Lillick’s practice grew to include some of the leading transportation, financial, insurance, and industrial companies in the world.
In December 2002, Nixon Peabody merged with the 150-year-old Boston firm of Hutchins, Wheeler & Dittmar, adding fifty attorneys in the areas of business, litigation, and health services.
In late 2008, as many law firms have collapsed or announced layoffs, Nixon Peabody declared an objective to double the size of the firm in the next three or four years, a move its global head of finance termed “a necessity for our firm.” The firm has said it will hire up to 100 attorneys from the dissolving firm Thelen LLP, and in October took on 25 lawyers in Paris, a move that led to a legal dispute with UK firm Taylor Wessing.
In February 2009 the firm announced layoffs of 56 attorneys and staff.
In 2009, Nixon Peabody was ranked #67 in the Vault Top 100 Law Firms Rankings.
Assistance to Guantanamo captives
Attorneys from Nixon Peabody prepared the habeas corpusHabeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
petition for captives held in extrajudicial detention
Extrajudicial detention
Arbitrary or extrajudicial detention is the detention of individuals by a state, without ever laying formal charges against them.Although it has a long history of legitimate use in wartime , detention without charge, sometimes in secret, has been one of the hallmarks of totalitarian states...
in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
Charles "Cully" Stimson
Charles Stimson
Charles Douglas "Cully" Stimson is a former American political appointee at the Pentagon. Stimson was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs...
, then
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs, stirred controversy when he went on record criticizing the patriotism of law firms that allowed employees to assist Guantanamo captives:
"corporate CEOs seeing this should ask firms to choose between lucrative retainers and representing terrorists."
Anthem
The firm commemorated its first ranking in the Fortune Magazine list with a celebratory anthem titled, "Everyone's a Winner at Nixon Peabody."The anthem was leaked to the legal gossip blog AboveTheLaw.com. The firm threatened blogger David Lat
David Lat
David B. Lat is an American blogger and a former federal prosecutor. He is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law, a blog about law firms and the legal profession....
with legal action if the anthem was not promptly removed from his blog, which only fanned the flames of the story and spread it to the mainstream media.