McDermott Will & Schulte

McDermott Will & Schulte
HeadquartersRiver Point
Chicago, Illinois
No. of offices20+
No. of attorneys1750[1]
No. of employees3,200+
Major practice areasGeneral practice
Key people
  • Edward H. McDermott (co-founder)
  • William M. Emery (co-founder)
  • Ira Coleman (chairman)
Revenue $1.82 billion USD (2022) [2]
Profit per equity partner $3.32 million USD (2022) [2]
Date foundedFebruary 2, 1934
Founder
  • Edward H. McDermott
  • William M. Emery
Company typemultiple limited liability partnerships
Websitemwe.com

McDermott Will & Schulte (formerly McDermott Will & Emery) is an international law firm with a diversified corporate practice. It represents commercial, industrial, and financial enterprises.

History

Chicago lawyers Edward H. McDermott and William M. Emery founded the firm in 1934. They were initially focused as a tax law firm, and a corporate department was established in 1941 when Howard A. Will joined the firm. As the century progressed, the firm added capabilities across the legal spectrum, eventually opening eight more offices. By 1984, the firm had amassed one hundred fifty lawyers. Over the ensuing twenty years, the firm grew; in 2004, McDermott numbered over one thousand lawyers.[3]

In November 2023, amid a wave of protests calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza War at elite U.S. law schools, McDermott Will & Emery was among a group of major law firms that sent a letter to top law school deans warning them that an escalation in incidents targeting Jewish students would have corporate hiring consequences:

We look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses.[4]

On August 1, 2025, the firm merged with Schulte Roth & Zabel, forming a new firm under the name McDermott Will & Schulte.[5]

In November 2025, McDermott Will & Schulte embarked on assessing private equity investment into the firm's operations,[6] by reshaping its practice with a management service organization (MSO).[7]

Organization

McDermott has more than 1,750 lawyers across more than 20 offices in the United States and Europe.[8]

The firm consists of multiple legal entities that are coordinated through service agreements, including:[9]

  • McDermott Will & Emery LLP – based in Illinois, U.S., with other offices throughout the country
  • McDermott Will & Emery AARPI[a] – France
  • McDermott Will & Emery Belgium LLP – based in Delaware, U.S., with offices in Belgium
  • McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP – based in Delaware, U.S., with offices in Germany
  • McDermott Will & Emery Studio Legale Associato[b] – Italy
  • McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP – United Kingdom

Recognition and rankings

  • In 2009, the Human Rights Campaign named McDermott Will & Emery as one of the record numbers of US companies earning the top rating of 100 percent in its annual Corporate Equality Index.[12]
  • In 2006, The National Law Journal named McDermott one of the top 15 defense litigation law firms in the United States on its annual Defense Hot List.[13] Also in 2006, the firm was named one of the top 10 law firms on BTI Consulting Group's Market Movers list.[14]

Notable alumni

See also

list of largest law firms by revenue

Notes

  1. ^ In France, an AARPI or Association d'Avocats à Responsabilité Professionnelle Individuelle (Association of Lawyers with Individual Professional Responsibility) is a form of limited liability partnership established by a 1954 government decree rescinding the prohibition on joint exercise structures in the legal profession.[10]
  2. ^ In Italy, a Studio Legale Associato (Associated Legal Practice) is similar in structure to a limited liability partnership. They were first established in 1997 when a law was passed rescinding a previous prohibition on libero professionisti (lawyers, accountants, doctors, chartered surveyors, etc.) forming such partnerships.[11]

References

  1. ^ Rigby, Ben (February 26, 2026). "McDermott Will & Schulte hires private credit partner from Kirkland in Paris". The Global Legal Post. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b Smith, Patrick (2023-02-27). "McDermott Sees 9% Revenue, PEP Growth, With 'Recession-Resistant' Practices". Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  3. ^ "McDermott Will & Emery - Firm History". Archived from the original on 2015-02-23.
  4. ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Mattu, Ravi; Warner, Bernhard; Kessler, Sarah; de la Merced, Michael J.; Hirsch, Lauren; Livni, Ephrat (2 November 2023). "Law Firms Warn Universities About Antisemitism on Campus". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Top law firms finalize merger, debut McDermott Will & Schulte as new legal powerhouse". McDermott. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  6. ^ Henry, Justin (12 November 2025). "McDermott Will & Schulte Considers Outside Investment in Firm". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  7. ^ Merken, Sara (December 18, 2025). "Law firms chart back-office deals as investors seek bigger legal market foothold". Reuters. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  8. ^ "McDermott Sees 9% Revenue, PEP Growth, With 'Recession-Resistant' Practices". Law.com International. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  9. ^ "McDermott Will & Emery - Disclaimer". Archived from the original on 2015-06-07.
  10. ^ Barreau de Paris (28 March 2017). "L'Association d'Avocats à Responsabilité Professionnelle Individuelle". Avocatparis.org. Retrieved 10 January 2019 (in French).
  11. ^ Cassano, Giuseppe (2012). La responsabilità civile. p. 80. Giuffrè Editore. ISBN 8814164843 (in Italian)
  12. ^ "HRC 2009 Corporate Equality Index" (PDF). hrc.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-26.
  13. ^ Defense Hot List, The National Law Journal. 2006.
  14. ^ BTI Market Movers: Law Firms Shaping the Legal Market BTI Consulting Group. 2006.
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