Greenberg Traurig

Last updated

Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Greenberg Traurig, PA
(doing business as Greenberg Traurig)
Greenberg Traurig logo.svg
No. of offices47
No. of attorneysApproximately 2750 (as of 2023)
Major practice areas
  • Business reorganization and bankruptcy
  • Litigation
  • Securities Arbitration
  • Products Liability & Mass Torts
  • Corporate and Securities
  • Intellectual Property and Information Technology
  • Data, Privacy & Cybersecurity
  • Entertainment
  • Real Estate
  • Tax, Trusts and Estates
  • Global Trade
  • Governmental Affairs
  • Public Finance
  • Environmental and Land Development
  • Gaming
Key people
  • Brian Duffy, chief executive officer
  • Richard A. Rosenbaum, executive chairman
  • Brad D. Kaufman, co-president
  • Ernest LaMont Greer, co-president
Revenue$2+ Billion USD (2023)
Date founded1967
FounderMel Greenberg, Larry J. Hoffman, and Robert H. Traurig
Website www.gtlaw.com

Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law and lobbying firm [1] founded in Miami in 1967 by Mel Greenberg, Larry J. Hoffman, and Robert H. Traurig.

Contents

As of 2022, it is the ninth-largest law firm in the United States. [2] The firm has 47 offices in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, [3] and Asia, [4] and approximately 2750 attorneys worldwide as of 2024. [5] Its 2023 revenue was well over $2 billion.

Their largest office is in New York City, [6] and their clients have included Diane Von Furstenberg Studios, Conde Nast Publications, The New Yorker , New Yorker staff, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and the plastics industry. [1]

History

20th century

Greenberg Traurig's founding office in Miami Greenberg Traurig headquarters.jpg
Greenberg Traurig's founding office in Miami

In the 1970s, Greenberg, Traurig and Hoffman became Greenberg, Traurig, Hoffman, Lipoff, and Quentel with the addition of attorneys Norman H. Lipoff and Albert D. Quentel as named shareholders. The late Florida governor Reubin Askew was a named shareholder in the early 1980s while he also sought the Democratic nomination for president. [7]

Larry Hoffman became managing partner of the firm in 1991, at which point the firm began to expand nationwide, beginning with the opening of an office in New York City. [8] In 1999, the firm expanded further, opening offices in Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and Wilmington, Delaware.

In 1999, the firm established the Greenberg Traurig Holly Skolnick Fellowship Foundation was established, which supports Equal Justice Works public interest lawyers. [9] Previously named the Greenberg Traurig Fellowship Foundation, the program was renamed in 2013 in honor of the late Holly Skolnick, a Greenberg Traurig shareholder who helped establish the foundation and served as its president. [10]

21st century

In 2000, the firm doubled the size of its New York City office by acquiring the local office of Graham & James.

In July 2009, Greenberg Traurig opened an office in London under the name of Greenberg Traurig Maher LLP, since renamed to Greenberg Traurig, LLP. The London office is currently located in The Shard skyscraper. [11]

According to OpenSecrets, Greenberg Traurig was one of the top law firms contributing to federal candidates during the 2012 election cycle, donating $1.49 million, 50.2% to Democrats. [12] By comparison, during that same period Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld donated $2.56 million, 66% to Democrats, [12] while oil conglomerate ExxonMobil donated $2.66 million, 88% to Republicans. [13] Since 1990, Greenberg Traurig contributed $11.2 million to federal campaigns. [14]

Between 2011 and 2013, Greenberg Traurig participated in the American Bar Association's National Pro Bono Week. [15]

In 2013, the firm launched a residency program to hire associates who are not recruited in traditional on-campus interviews by allowing them to spend up to a third of their billable hours in training for a one-year trial period. [16] [17] [18]

In 2016, Brian Duffy became CEO. [19] In July 2018, founding member Robert H. Traurig died at age 93 in Miami. [20]

In 2020, Greenberg Traurig became the first law firm certified to be net carbon neutral by the Center for Resource Solutions. [21] In October 2022, they were named a Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certified Plus firm, which requires at least 30% of leadership roles and 30% of staffed lawyers come from historically underrepresented groups. [22]

Controversies

Abramoff lobbying scandals

In January 2001, lobbyist Jack Abramoff left Preston Gates & Ellis to join Greenberg Traurig. At the firm, Abramoff assembled "Team Abramoff", a lobbying team that was implicated in the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal and the monetary influence of Jack Abramoff.

Chicago patronage

In 2001, Victor Reyes, who headed the Hispanic Democratic Organization, joined Greenberg Traurig to lead the firm's Chicago lobbying practice. After Reyes's arrival, from 2001 to 2005, Greenberg earned $3.5 million in city-related legal fees, including for representing the city in the United Airlines and RCN Cable TV bankruptcies. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald subsequently alleged that Reyes's law office was central to a patronage scheme to funnel city jobs to Richard M. Daley campaign workers. Reyes resigned from Greenberg in August 2005 and was not charged, but prosecutors labeled him as a "co-schemer" in the indictment. [23] Greenberg CEO César Álvarez stated, "I don't know about anything [Reyes] did in the firm that was wrong. I can only know what I have seen, and I only know that he hasn't been charged". [24]

Philadelphia bankruptcy case

In May 2005, Philadelphia partner Robert S. Grossman pleaded guilty to charges that he had lied in a 1996 bankruptcy case to cover up his improper diversion of over $100,000 to his personal account when he worked as a real estate developer in Virginia.

Hamilton Bank

In June 2006, Greenberg Traurig agreed to pay the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation $7.6 million for its role as a legal adviser to the now-defunct Hamilton Bank in Miami, to settle allegations that it had helped to cover up bank officers' financial misconduct. The firm paid an additional $750,000 fine to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for allegedly protecting the bank's officers "by making materially false and misleading assertions and by suppressing material evidence".

Tax shelter kickbacks

In November 2006, Jay I. Gordon, the former chairman of Greenberg Traurig's tax practice, resigned from the New York State Bar Association and was disbarred for taking over $1.2 million in kickbacks on tax shelters that he had recommended to wealthy clients of the firm. [25]

New York state real estate

In November 2008, a New York state court refused to dismiss a suit alleging that Robert J. Ivanhoe, head of its real estate group, disregarded his "legal and fiduciary duties" by taking a personal financial stake in a competitor to a client that had invested in a multibillion-dollar real estate venture. [26] The former client sued Ivanhoe and Greenberg Traurig in April 2008 for breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference with prospective economic damages, and malpractice. Greenberg Traurig responded that the allegations were "without merit" and that it would appeal the ruling. [27]

Trademark infringement

In December 2008, the firm and several current and former firm attorneys, including Harley Lewin and Steven Wadyka, were sued in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by Catherine and Richard Snyder of Herndon, Virginia. Greenberg Traurig's client, Diane Von Furstenberg Studios, and Conde Nast Publications, The New Yorker and New Yorker staff reporter, Larissa MacFarquhar, were also named in the suit. The Snyders' suit stemmed from a suit filed in the same court by Diane Von Furstenberg Studios against Catherine Snyder in December 2006 for trademark infringement, which resulted in an award of damages to DVF Studios. [28]

Insider trading

In 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) looked into insider trader allegations between United States House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health staff director Brian Sutter and Mark Hayes, a lobbyist at Greenberg Traurig. In November, 2015, New York U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe ordered the Committee and a former staffer to respond to an SEC subpoena request , but he did term the request "overbroad." The SEC sought to determine whether Sutter or anyone else from the Committee tipped off lobbyist Mark Hayes of Greenberg Traurig, which information was then forwarded to Height Securities LLC. Judge Gardephe reasoned that the congressional Speech and Debate Clause does not provide protection for information communicated by a legislative member or aide to a member of the public, and that Sutter's statements to employees of Greenberg are consequently not protected and must be produced. [29] [30] After two years of litigation and its 2nd Circuit appeal of the subpoena in December 2015, the Committee finally dropped its opposition to the order requested by the SEC. [31]

Rudy Giuliani

In May 2018, the firm parted ways with Rudy Giuliani over his allegations that he would pay his clients' adversaries hush money in a manner consistent with the Stormy Daniels affair. Giuliani suggested that such payments were common, even without the knowledge of the clients. [32]

Finances

Revenue Chart [33] [34] [35] [36] [37]
Data2015201620172018201920202021
Revenue (in $ billions)1.27B$1.32B$1.38B$1.477B$1.556B$1.64B$1.73B

Awards and rankings

It is the ninth largest law firm in the United States by headcount and ranks in the top 20 of the Am Law 100 by gross revenue, in the top 10 of the NLJ 500, and in the top 25 of the Global 200. [38] [39]

Law Firm Rankings [40] [37]
YearAM Law 200 RankGlobal 200 RankNLJ 500 Rank
202116219
202014199
2019141910
20181419N/A
20171419N/A
20161420N/A
20151520N/A

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Reed</span> American political pundit

Ralph Eugene Reed Jr. is an American political consultant and lobbyist, best known as the first executive director of the Christian Coalition during the early 1990s. He sought the Republican nomination for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Georgia but lost the primary election on July 18, 2006, to state Senator Casey Cagle. Reed started the Faith and Freedom Coalition in June 2009. Reed and his wife JoAnne Young were married in 1987 and have four children. He is a member of the Council for National Policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Abramoff</span> American lobbyist (born 1959)

Jack Allan Abramoff is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, and writer. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction and 21 other people either pleading guilty or being found guilty, including White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional aides.

Michael Scanlon is a former communications director for Rep. Tom DeLay, lobbyist, and public relations executive who has pleaded guilty to corruption charges related to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. He is currently assisting in the investigation of his former partners Abramoff, Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed by separate state and federal grand jury investigations related to the defrauding of American Indian tribes and corruption of public officials.

The Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal was a United States political scandal exposed in 2005; it related to fraud perpetrated by political lobbyists Jack Abramoff, Ralph E. Reed Jr., Grover Norquist and Michael Scanlon on Native American tribes who were seeking to develop casino gambling on their reservations. The lobbyists charged the tribes an estimated $85 million in fees. Abramoff and Scanlon grossly overbilled their clients, secretly splitting the multi-million dollar profits. In one case, they secretly orchestrated lobbying against their own clients in order to force them to pay for lobbying services.

The Jack Abramoff Guam investigation involves an alleged plot by lobbyist Jack Abramoff and others to control the functions of the courts in Guam. A federal grand jury investigation was halted in 2002 when the prosecutor was removed from office by the George W. Bush administration.

The monetary influence of Jack Abramoff ran deep in Washington, as Jack Abramoff spent millions of dollars to influence and entertain both Republican and Democratic politicians. Abramoff had a reputation for largesse considered exceptional even by Washington standards. In addition to offering many Republican members of Congress expensive free meals at his restaurant, Signatures, Abramoff maintained four skyboxes at major sports arenas for political entertaining at a cost of over $1 million a year. Abramoff hosted many fundraisers at these skyboxes including events for Republican politicians publicly opposed to gambling, such as John Doolittle. Abramoff gave over $260,000 in personal contributions to Republican candidates, politicians, and organizations, and funded numerous trips for politicians and staffers and gave none to Democrats.

"Team Abramoff" is the team of lobbyists assembled by Jack Abramoff when he worked at Greenberg Traurig, primarily of former aides to prominent Congressional politicians. Their work is embroiled in the Jack Abramoff scandals.

Alexander Strategy Group was an American lobbying firm involved in the K Street Project. The firm was founded by Ed Buckham, a former chief of staff to House Majority Leader Tom Delay, and his wife Wendy. The firm openly promoted its access to DeLay. Its chief lobbyist was Paul Behrends, who became Dana Rohrabacher's aide.

Tony Charles Rudy is an American politician. He served in the office of U. S. Representative Tom DeLay (R-TX) from approximately 1995 to 2001, and rose to be his deputy Chief of Staff.

GrassRoots Interactive (GRI), now defunct, was a small Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, lobbying firm controlled by Jack Abramoff. It was founded "with a $10,000 investment" by the company's sole owner, Republican lawyer Edward B. Miller, in May 2003, "a month after he began work as a senior official in the state Department of Business and Economic Development." Miller, then a lawyer at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, is a former aide to Governor of Maryland Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. and "was promoted to deputy chief of staff in the governor's office" in early 2004.

Capitol Campaign Strategies was an American public relations firm run by Michael Scanlon, Tom DeLay's former press secretary, which Scanlon used in coordination with Jack Abramoff to redirect about $40 million in lobbying contributions from Indian tribes to Scanlon, Abramoff, and their associates, as well as funding bribes to Republican politicians such as Bob Ney. Scanlon and Abramoff have pleaded guilty for their activities. After Abramoff left Preston Gates and went to Greenberg Traurig in January 2001, Scanlon formed Capitol Campaign Strategies. Its official location was 611 Pennsylvania Avenue SE in Washington, D.C., which is a maildrop. Scanlon also formed the dummy organizations American International Center and Atlantic Research Analysis aka Atlantic Research & Analysis, used to receive and distribute CCS money.

Kevin A. Ring is a former American attorney and congressional staffer; he served Republicans in both the House and the Senate, including U.S. Representative John T. Doolittle (R-CA). He also served as a counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee's Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights Subcommittee.

Will Brooke is an American political staffer and a figure in the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal.

Kaygold LLC was Jack Abramoff's primary front organization for funneling tribal moneys in the Gimme Five scheme to his personal accounts. Its registered address was Abramoff's home address; on the National Center for Public Policy Research's 2003 Tax Form 990, Kaygold's address was listed as his work address at Greenberg Traurig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Abramoff CNMI scandal</span>

The Jack Abramoff CNMI scandal involved the efforts of Jack Abramoff, other lobbyists, and government officials to change or prevent, or both, Congressional action regarding the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and businesses on Saipan, its capital, commercial center, and one of its three principal islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thacher Proffitt & Wood</span>

Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP was an American law firm headquartered in New York City. At its peak, the firm was made up of approximately 365 attorneys with offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Mexico City; White Plains, New York; and Summit, New Jersey.

Syntax-Brillian Corporation was an American corporation formed on November 30, 2005, by the merger of Syntax with Brillian Corporation. The company sold HDTVs under the brand name of Ölevia and its stock was previously listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol BRLC. It was based in Tempe, Arizona. In 2009, it resolved a bankruptcy proceeding by selling all its assets to Emerson Radio Corp.

Todd Boulanger is an American lobbyist. He was senior vice president of Cassidy & Associates and was a figure in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

James F. Hirni is a lobbyist who was convicted of bribing U.S. Senate staff aides in exchange for favorable amendments to legislation. A former aide to U.S. Senator Tim Hutchinson (R-AR), he joined the lobbying firm Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, and then became a member of "Team Abramoff" at Greenberg Traurig. He went on to become a lobbyist for Wal-Mart from 2004–08, as its executive director of Republican outreach. He was fired when charges were filed concerning his activities with Abramoff.

References

  1. 1 2 Kinniburgh, Colin (June 8, 2023). "Chemical Industry Steps Up Lobbying as New York Weighs Major Waste Bill". NYS Focus.
  2. ↑ "Greenberg Traurig". Law.com . Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Greenberg Traurig makes Varso move". EurobuildCEE. October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Locations". Greenberg Traurig. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  5. ↑ Chen, Te-Ping (August 6, 2021). "Covid-19 Threatens to Blow Up Law Firms' Intense Office Culture—for Good". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Leaders" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "3/19/14 Memorial Service for Former Florida Governor Reubin Askew - The Florida Channel".
  8. ↑ "Greenberg Traurig Endows the Larry J. Hoffman Greenberg Traurig Distinguished Professorship". Archived from the original on February 16, 2007. Retrieved January 2, 2007.
  9. ↑ ""Equal Justice Works"".
  10. ↑ "Greenberg Traurig Announces New 2014 Public Interest Fellows". Greenberg Traurig. February 19, 2014. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  11. ↑ "GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP". Companies House. Companies House . Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  12. 1 2 "Lawyers & Lobbyists: Top Contributors to Federal Candidates, Parties, and Outside Groups". OpenSecrets.org. OpenSecrets.
  13. ↑ "Energy/Natural Resources: Top Contributors to Federal Candidates, Parties, and Outside Groups". OpenSecrets . Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Organizations: Greenberg Traurig". OpenSecrets . Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Celebration Supporters". National Pro Bono Week. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  16. ↑ "'Residency program' associates at this BigLaw firm will get more training and less pay". ABA Journal. October 22, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Law school grads trade top pay for job experience". Sun Sentinel. November 19, 2013. Archived from the original on November 23, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  18. ↑ "A Firm Leader's Guide to Survival of the Biggest". The National Law Journal. February 24, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Duffy named CEO of Greenberg Traurig lawfirm". miamiherald. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Robert Traurig, who helped build one of the world's largest law firms, dies at 93". miamiherald. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  21. ↑ Jain, Diksha (June 3, 2021). "Greenberg Traurig Appoints New Global Co-Head of Energy Project Finance | JDJournal". www.jdjournal.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Mansfield 5.0 Certified Firms". Diversity Lab. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Feds link close pal of Daley to hiring", Chicago Tribune
  24. ↑ "Routine Maintenance". law.com.
  25. ↑ "Matter of Gordon (2006 NY Slip Op 08075)". state.ny.us.
  26. ↑ Nama Holdings, LLC v. Greenberg Traurig LLP, Index No. 601054/08 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cty. Nov. 18, 2008)
  27. ↑ "Routine Maintenance". law.com.
  28. ↑ "Couple Sues New Yorker & Greenberg Traurig", from Court House News Service
  29. ↑ House panel can't mix SEC subpoena in insider-trading probe, Law 360, Cara Silvatore, November 16, 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  30. ↑ House Panel intervenes in SEC's Insider Trading Investigation, Shepherd, Finkleman, Miller & Shah, Casey Yamasaki, November 17, 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  31. ↑ House, SEC Drop Health Care Subpoena Fight At 2nd Circuit, Law 360, Martin O'Sullivan, November 14, 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  32. ↑ Schmidt, Michael S.; Haberman, Maggie (May 10, 2018). "Giuliani's Law Firm Undercuts His Statements as They Part Ways". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  33. ↑ Meyer, Dani. "Revenues Soar At Baker Botts, Greenberg Traurig - Law360". Law360 . Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  34. ↑ March 07, Monika Gonzalez Mesa |; AM, 2017 at 09:49. "Greenberg Traurig grows revenue and partner profits as firm gears up for efficiency push". LegalWeek. Retrieved March 26, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  35. ↑ "Greenberg Traurig, LLP|Company Profile|Vault.com". Vault. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Greenberg Traurig Posts $1.73 Billion in Revenue for 2020". Bloomberg News . Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  37. 1 2 "Greenberg Traurig". Law.com . Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  38. ↑ "Greenberg Traurig".
  39. ↑ "The 2018 Global 100 Ranked by Revenue".
  40. ↑ "Greenberg Traurig". Law.com. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.