Even Small Firms Represent America's Biggest Companies
James Erik Abels
Small Firm Business
October 12, 2006
It's not just a big-firm world, after all.
For the fifth year in a row, Corporate Counsel, a sister publication of Small Firm Business, surveyed Fortune 250 general counsel to name their primary law firms in four areas: litigation, corporate transactions, labor and employment, and intellectual property.
This year, 93 companies provided information on their top law firms. Respondents were only able to identify up to seven "go-to" firms for each practice area. Using Martindale.com as a standard source for determining the size of the firm, we found that nearly 25 percent of the 380 firms named by respondents had 40 or fewer attorneys (though firms may have since surpassed that head count).
So, while many may think of small firms in the context of representing the average citizen and small to midsize businesses, these firms reach much further — into even the most rarefied ranks of the Fortune 250.