Schiff Hardin LLP was a national
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 ...
with more than 300 attorneys practicing out of seven offices nationwide —
Ann Arbor, Chicago, Lake Forest, New York, Newport Beach,
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, and Washington, DC.
It was a general practice firm serving corporate clients. In 2022, Schiff Hardin merged with
Arent Fox to form the firm of ArentFox Schiff.
History
The firm was founded in 1864 as Hitchcock & Dupee and ranked as one of Chicago's oldest law firms. In its early years, it represented the Chicago City Railway Company and
Chicago Transit Authority. In 1889, Hitchcock & Dupee gained
Northern Trust
Northern Trust Corporation is an American financial services company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, that caters to corporations, institutional investors, and ultra high net worth individuals. Northern Trust is one of the List of largest ban ...
as a client; the company continued to turn to Schiff Hardin for all legal advice until the Arent Fox merger. The firm acquired its current name in 2004.
Schiff Hardin opened a Washington, D.C. office in 1977. An office in New York City (1991) followed. 2002 brought a suburban Chicago office in Lake Forest. In 2007, the firm merged with Morgenstein & Jubelirer to open a San Francisco office, followed by an Ann Arbor, Michigan office in 2012.
Notable cases
*''Chicago Board Options Exchange'' — In the early 1970s, the firm created the legal structure of the CBOE. In June 2010, the firm represented the
Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated in its approximately $3 billion demutualization transaction, in which the CBOE converted from a member-owned Delaware non-stock corporation to a Delaware stock corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of a new parent holding company, CBOE Holdings, Inc.
[http://www.chicagolawbulletin.com/search/historicalcharge.cfm?ID=100011430&SessionID=&TYPE=news ]
*''United States of America v. Conrad M. Black et al.''
— The firm represented Mark S. Kipnis, the former general counsel of Hollinger International, Inc., in this highly publicized trial.
*''People v. Harper''
— Schiff Hardin represented Julie Rae Harper, a woman wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for the murder of her young son, at her retrial. This case generated considerable media attention after ABC-TV's 20/20 program ran a show about the case.
*''Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Woodley''
— In a case that received nationwide attention, the
Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), represented by Schiff Hardin's Animal Law practice attorneys and North Carolina counsel, obtained a full and final judgment in Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Woodley in a case involving
animal hoarding
Animal hoarding, sometimes called Noah syndrome, is keeping a higher-than-usual number of animals as domestic pets without the ability to properly house or care for them, while at the same time denial, denying this inability. Compulsive hoarding ...
.
Notable clients
References
External links
*
Worth Magazine's Top 100 Attorneys List Honors Schiff Hardin LLP Partners Thomas W. Abendroth and John D. DadakisSchiff Hardin LLP Organizational Profile at the National Law ReviewGoldman & Associates Criminal LawyerChambers & Partners Firm ProfileC. Norris Law Group Website
{{Illinois Corporations
Law firms established in 1864
Law firms based in Chicago