Foley & Lardner LLP (often referred to simply as "Foley") is an international

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 consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

founded in 1842. In terms of revenue, it ranked 45th on

The American Lawyer ''The American Lawyer'' is a monthly legal magazine and website published by ALM Media. The periodical and its parent company, ALM (then American Lawyer Media), were founded in 1979 by Steven Brill.AmLaw 100 rankings of U.S. law firms, with $1.28 billion gross revenue in 2024.

History

The oldest and largest law firm in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, it was established in 1842 as Finch & Lynde. Its founders were Asahel Finch Jr., a Republican and former Michigan state representative, and William Pitt Lynde, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

who later served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, the Wisconsin state legislature, and as

mayor of Milwaukee This is a list of mayors of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following the election of Socialist Emil Seidel as mayor of Milwaukee in 1910, Wisconsin legislators passed a bill in 1912 to declare most local offices across the state as officially non-parti ...

. By 1970 the firm was beginning to grow substantially, and in 2001, after absorbing firms in Chicago and Washington, D.C., it was the 11th-largest firm in the United States. In 1969 the firm adopted the name Foley & Lardner LLP and launched a succession of acquisitions to become a national law firm."Foley & Lardner History"
FundingUniverse.com (accessed 2013-04-12). The name refers to two name partners, both corporate lawyers: Leon Foley and Lynford Lardner Jr. Both Leon Foley and Lynford Lardner are credited with launching the law firm's large national expansion. Foley, who acted as a strategist in the development of Aurora Health Care System, which would become Wisconsin’s largest healthcare provider, died at 83 in 1978. Lardner, who also served as the president of the United States Golf Association, died after drowning in the

Milwaukee River The Milwaukee River is a river in the state of Wisconsin. It is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 19, 2011 Once a locus of industry, the river is now the ...

. Lardner is survived by four grandchildren. When the firm merged with Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in 2018, the plan (at least initially) was to use, in some cities, a firm name including the name partner name "Gardere". In 2020, Foley & Lardner partner

Cleta Mitchell Cleta B. Deatherage Mitchell ( Deatherage; born September 16, 1950) is an American lawyer, former politician, and Republican elections activist. Elected in 1976, Mitchell served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives until 1984, representing Di ...

aided

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and pressure election officials to "find" votes for him to defeat the then Democratic Party candidate and eventual

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

. Mitchell criticized Georgia Secretary of State

Brad Raffensperger Bradford Jay Raffensperger (born May 18, 1955) is an American businessman, civil engineer, and politician serving as the Georgia Secretary of State, secretary of state of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

, accusing him without evidence of saying things "that are simply not correct" about the presidential results in Georgia. She also claimed without evidence that dead people voted in the election. When confronted with why a Foley & Lardner partner was involved in aiding Trump in overturning the 2020 election, Foley & Lardner distanced itself from Mitchell. On January 5, 2021, Foley & Lardner announced that Mitchell had resigned. In 2021 Foley & Lardner opened its 25th office, in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

. The firm opened its 26th office in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

in 2024, and its 27th office in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in 2025. Foley & Lardner's primary practice areas include

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

business law Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and organizations engaged in ...

litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...

, and

regulatory Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

. Notable clients of the firm include the Nicholas Maduro regime in Venezuela,

Johnson Controls Johnson Controls International plc is an American, Irish-domiciled multinational conglomerate headquartered in Cork, Ireland, that produces fire, HVAC, and security equipment for buildings. As of mid-2019, it employed 105,000 people in arou ...

, CVS,

Harley Davidson Harley may refer to: People * Harley (given name) * Harley (surname) Places * Harley, Ontario, a township in Canada * Harley, Brant County, Ontario, Canada * Harley, Shropshire, England * Harley, South Yorkshire, England * Harley Street, i ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, and

Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energía, produces 21 ...

Notable current and former employees

* William M. Conley, U.S. District Court judge for the Western District of Wisconsin, was a partner in the Madison office *

Jim Doyle James Edward Doyle Jr. (born November 23, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Wisconsin from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he narrowly defeated incumbent Republican governor Scott M ...

, Former Governor of Wisconsin, is of counsel in the Madison office *

Bob DuPuy Robert A. DuPuy (born c. 1947) is a lawyer and former President and Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball (MLB). He assumed both titles on March 7, 2002. Prior to joining Major League Baseball in 1998, he was a partner and management co ...

, former president and chief operating officer of

, has been a partner in the Milwaukee and New York offices * Thomas E. Fairchild, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge and Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, was an associate in the Milwaukee office from 1945 to 1948 *

Russ Feingold Russell Dana Feingold ( ; born March 2, 1953) is an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, h ...

, Former United States Senator from Wisconsin, was an associate in the Madison office *

Brian Hagedorn Brian Keith Hagedorn (born January 21, 1978) is an American lawyer and a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, serving since 2019. Before his election to the Supreme Court, he served four years as a judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Ear ...

, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, worked at the Milwaukee office * William Isaac, Chairman of the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a State-owned enterprises of the United States, United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was cr ...

from 1981 to 1985 and current Chairman of consulting firm LECG’s Global Financial Services * Joan F. Kessler,

Wisconsin Court of Appeals The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court that reviews contested decisions of the Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of appe ...

Judge, was a partner in the Milwaukee office * Scott L. Klug, Former United States Congressman from

Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in southern Wisconsin, covering Dane County, Iowa County, Lafayette County, Sauk County and Green County, as well as portions of ...

, is a public affairs director in the Madison office *

Brett H. Ludwig Brett Harry Ludwig (born 1969) is a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He is a former Judge of the United States bankruptcy court, United States B ...

, U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, was a partner at the Milwaukee office * Marcia Morales Howard, U.S. District Court judge for the Middle District of Florida, was an associate in the Jacksonville office *

Lisa S. Neubauer Lisa Neubauer ( Stephens; born July 21, 1957) is an American lawyer and judge, currently serving as a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in the Waukesha-based District II. Judge Neubauer has served on the Court of Appeals since 2007 and w ...

, Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge and candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, was a partner in the Milwaukee office *Ulice Payne Jr., Former CEO of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

and first African-American CEO of a

franchise, was a partner in the Milwaukee office *

Fred Ridley Fred Scobie Ridley (born August 16, 1952) is an American amateur golfer and golf administrator who won the U.S. Amateur in 1975, was elected president of the United States Golf Association (USGA) in 2004, and then became chairman of Augusta Nati ...

, current Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, is a partner in the Tampa office, former national chair of the Real Estate Practice, a member of the Hospitality & Leisure (former co-chair) and Sports Industry Teams, a member of the Transactions Practice, and a former member of the firm’s Management Committee. * Manuel Rocha, Former U.S. Ambassador to

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

(2000–02), is a Senior Advisor on International Business in the Miami office. Arrested on December 1, 2023 on charges of spying for

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. *

, attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and subsequently resigned. *

Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual an ...

United States Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on questions o ...

, was a summer associate in the Milwaukee office * Dennis Cardoza, Former United States Congressman from

California's 18th congressional district California's 18th congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district located in the U.S. state of California. The district is currently represented by . Since the 2022 election, the district is lan ...

, in a public affairs and lobbying role. *

Chris Kise Christopher Michael Kise (born 1964 or 1965) is an American lawyer who served as the second Solicitor General of Florida from 2003 to 2006. Kise has served on the board of directors of Enterprise Florida, was an advisor to Republican politician ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley and Lardner Law firms established in 1842 Law firms based in Milwaukee Foreign law firms with offices in Japan