Legal 500 Recommends Seyfarth Shaw as a Top U.S. Law Firm

Clients laud the firm as “the undisputed leader in client service, responsiveness and expertise”

Chicago, IL (June 11, 2009)—Seyfarth Shaw LLP, one of America’s leading full-service law firms, is recommended as one of the best law firms in the United States in multiple practice areas in the 2009 edition of Legal 500 United States, an independent guide to America’s foremost law firms. The firm ranked at the top of the best-in-class rankings in two areas of Labor & Employment Law: Workplace & Employment Counseling and Immigration. Rounding out the firm’s national rankings, the Labor & Employment Litigation group earned a Tier 2 ranking among the country’s most elite practice groups in their field, as did the Labor & Employee Relations Practice Group. Additionally, the Real Estate Practice Group in the firm’s Chicago office earned a Tier 2 ranking in Illinois, and the Construction Practice Group earned a Tier 2 ranking for their litigation-related work.

For 2009, Legal 500 added a category to celebrate “Leading Lawyers.” Partners highlighted by the guide for this honor include: David S. Baffa (Workplace Counseling & Compliance), William P. Perkins (Workplace Counseling & Compliance), Angelo Paparelli (Immigration), and Joel D. Rubin (Real Estate).

Labor & Employment: Immigration (Tier 1)

Legal 500 found that clients say Seyfarth Shaw’s immigration attorneys “are good at what they do and treat us well—that is why they have remained our firm of choice” and “Seyfarth Shaw is a great law firm that really knows their stuff.” Further, according to the guide, clients value the firm’s strong government relations wing, saying “they are always on top of changing legislation and are quick to let us know of any changes.” Clients also praise the practice group’s attorneys’ “dedication, work ethic, availability and success rate” and add “they are great to work with.”

Complementing the practice group’s overall ranking, Legal 500 researchers highlighted a few of the group’s individual attorneys. Angelo Paparelli, who splits his time between Los Angeles and New York, was described as “always at the top of the list and rightly so,” while Boston partner Dyann DelVecchio was singled out as being “very highly thought of.” Atlanta-based James King, the guide pointed out, also comes recommended.

Labor & Employment: Workplace and Employment Counseling (Tier 1)

Legal 500 reported that “Seyfarth Shaw has established workplace counseling as a core strength of its labor and employment offering and has developed a dedicated counseling practice comprising nine inter-disciplinary teams of more than 75 attorneys. Clients pick out their ‘very deep expertise in all areas of employment law,’ ‘their familiarity with company policies and culture’ and ‘strong reputation’ as key attractions, and add that ‘they’ve worked with major companies for many years and they are able to understand the clients’ business needs.’” According to the guide, “Clients frequently praise the group’s quality of service, saying ‘they are extremely responsive and have the expertise to provide well-designed pragmatic solutions to the issues posed to them,’ ‘they have an incredible work ethic’ and ‘a can-do attitude.’ Others add that ‘their customer service is superb. They call me back as soon as possible; they make me feel like I am their only client.’”

In addition to the practice as a whole, Legal 500 singled out several partners who received exceptional praise from clients. The guide noted, “Group co-chairs David Baffa in Chicago and Robert Nobile in New York come highly recommended. One client said of the former ‘I refer to him as “the fixer” while others add that ‘he is excellent’ and offers ‘good work on short notice and the ability to get the job done.’ Nobile is ‘excellent to bounce things off of.’” Clients reported to Legal 500 the Partner Valerie Hoffman, Chair of the Affirmative Action & Diversity Consulting/Business Immigration Practice Group “stays apprised of new laws and regulations and maintains the highest levels of professionalism and integrity.” Clients further reported to the guide that “San Francisco-based partner Gilmore Diekmann is ‘very pragmatic and gets right to the issue’ as well as being ‘an excellent employment lawyer’ who provides ‘frank advice.’ Clients also commend William Perkins in New York, saying ‘he is a great negotiator and has a keen understanding of how companies work internally’ and ‘he literally pulls over on the highway to call me back.’”

Labor & Employment: Management Relations (Tier 2)

The guide noted that Seyfarth Shaw’s quality of service is frequently praised by clients across its labor and employment

practice. According to Legal 500, clients say “all of the lawyers that I have worked with are exceptionally client-focused” and “they use technology very well which simplifies communication and improves the speed of information flow.” They further note that the practice is “an excellent business partner and is focused on meeting the needs of the customer in a timely and professional manner.” In addition, the attorneys are praised for their ability “to effectively and efficiently resolve matters.”

Legal 500 also spotlighted five partners in its Management Relations practice. The guide noted, “Bradford Livingston heads the national labor relations practice while Douglas Darch is singled out as a ‘wonderful lawyer that I would recommend highly to anyone.’” The guide further noted that Kenneth Dolin and David Streck “clearly stand out—they are extremely knowledgeable, learned my business, are tenacious, pro-active and extremely responsive,” while noting that others added, “we’re always very comfortable with the work that they do for us and the thoroughness of their investigations.” In addition to the above Chicago-based partners, clients report that Peter Chatilovicz in Washington D.C. “understands public sector labor relations” and “provides excellent recommendations on strategy.”

Labor & Employment: Litigation (Tier 2)

Clients reported to Legal 500 that Seyfarth Shaw offers a broad-ranging practice with particular strengths in wage and hour litigation and complex discrimination cases. The team has a solid reputation, with clients saying “they provide a high level of expertise and service,” “the quality of their work is top-notch” and “the lawyers work hard to understand our business and its needs.” The guide noted, “One area frequently praised is the group’s approach to clients, who say it is ‘the undisputed leader in client service, responsiveness and expertise’ and ‘when I call, they will provide whatever support I need in the time that I need it—client service is always their top priority.’”

Four partners in the labor and employment litigation practice were singled out by the guide. Legal 500 noted, “National chairman Jeremy Sherman is a well-regarded member of the practice, while clients single out Chicago partners Mark Lies and Ian Morrison as ‘extremely knowledgeable in their practice areas and extremely client-focused.’ Others are impressed by Linda Schoonmaker, a Houston-based partner, calling her ‘one of the most competent and capable trial lawyers I’ve ever encountered.’”

Construction: Washington, D.C. (Tier 2)

Legal 500 reported that the firm’s Construction Practice Group “houses 50 attorneys, and its construction attorneys have prepared thousands of requests for equitable adjustment (REAs) and construction claims. The team is often able to settle disputes at an early stage in the dispute resolution process, but its lawyers ‘are more than capable of tackling challenging litigation head-on.’ Other areas undertaken involve the counseling of clients on procurement-related issues, contract administration and risk management.”

The guide’s researchers found that clients were particularly impressed with practice group leader Richard (“Kim”) Preston and partner Bennett Greenberg: “The ‘excellent’ trial litigator Richard Preston and construction practice chair focuses his practice on U.S. and international construction disputes, as well as government contracts, and has served as an arbitrator. Bennett Greenberg is also recommended, having successfully mediated, litigated, and arbitrated large complex, multi-party construction disputes.”

Real Estate—Transactions and Finance: Illinois (Tier 2)

Legal 500 reported, “Seyfarth Shaw has its origins in Chicago and the real estate group has been used as the motor for the development of a nationwide practice which now numbers more than 100 attorneys. The Chicago group of some 25 lawyers has established an excellent reputation and is seen as one of the handful of firms at the top of the market. The practice is a broad one which frequently draws on the expertise of other departments in taxation, corporate law and litigation. Current instructions tend to refinancing, restructuring and lease renegotiation rather than the normal diet of transactions and developments.”

In Chicago, three of the practice group’s partners earned recognition from the guide. Clients told Legal 500, “Seyfarth

Shaw’s Joel Rubin, is a very senior practitioner who ‘knows real estate like no one else—we’ve used him for years and he’s never got it wrong.’ Gregg Dorman is a ‘well-known and well respected attorney’ who heads the new retail and airport development practice. Kelly Bufton is ‘knowledgeable, timely and very pleasant to work with’ and has considerable expertise in investor-side instructions including REITs and pension funds.”

According to the publisher, Legal 500 United States provides America’s businesses and other law firm clients with “independent, unbiased commentary on the leading law firms—and lawyers—in the most important legal marketplace in the world.” They state that the United States edition “is a guide to the ‘best of the best’—the pre-eminent firms in the world’s strongest and most competitive legal market.”

Seyfarth Shaw has over 775 attorneys located in nine offices throughout the United States including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., as well as Brussels, Belgium. Seyfarth Shaw provides a broad range of legal services in the areas of labor and employment, employee benefits, litigation and business services. The firm’s practice reflects virtually every industry and segment of the country’s business and social fabric. Clients include over 300 of the Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, newspapers and other media, hotels, health care organizations, airlines and railroads. The firm also represents a number of federal, state, and local governmental and educational entities. For more information, please visit www.seyfarth.com.