Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman LLP was a

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

–based

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 ...

, itself a product of the merger between D.C. law firm Swidler & Berlin and New York City's Shereff, Friedman, Hoffman & Goodman LLP in 1998. The firm merged with

Bingham McCutchen Bingham McCutchen LLP was a global law firm with approximately 850 attorneys in nine US offices and five international offices. It ceased operations in late 2015, when several hundred of its partners and associate lawyers left the firm to join Phi ...

in 2006. At its height in 2005, Swidler Berlin employed some 300 attorneys with offices on D.C. K Street lobbying corridor and in New York City's iconic

Chrysler Building The Chrysler Building is a , Art Deco skyscraper in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, it is the tallest brick building in the world wit ...

. Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman was known for its regulatory, telecommunications, insurance coverage and lobbying capabilities, the latter of which was enhanced by its association with the Harbour Group, a lobbying and public relations firm with strong ties to the

Clinton Administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...

. The firm engaged in lengthy but ultimately inconclusive merger talks with California-based law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in 2004.'Orrick targets Washington with Swidler Berlin talks,' ''The Lawyer,'' May 4, 2004. http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=109868 The next year, Philadelphia-based

Dechert Dechert LLP (; ) is a multinational American law firm of more than 900 lawyers with practices in corporate and securities, complex litigation, finance and real estate, financial services, asset management, and private equity. In 2021, the firm r ...

made a mass raid on Swidler Berlin's DC and New York offices, hiring 57 attorneys from both the firm's corporate and litigation departments. This included many legacy Shereff Friedman attorneys and was widely seen as a blow to the firm's long-term prospects. The firm merged with bicoastal firm

the next year and the Swidler Berlin name was retired from use. Now-defunct San Francisco firm

Heller Ehrman Heller Ehrman LLP was an international law firm of more than 730 attorneys in 15 offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Heller Ehrman was founded in San Francisco in 1890 and had additional offices located in most of the major financial ...

inherited much of the insurance team at that time because of conflict of interest issues. The association with the Harbour Group was discontinued although Bingham McCutchen continues to have a strong political, election law and lobbying practice.

Notable Mandates

*Represented Suiza Foods Corporation, a conglomerate of dairies and dairy operating companies in its $1.5 billion merger with

Dean Foods Dean Foods was an American food and beverage company and the largest dairy company in the United States. The company's products included milk, ice cream, dairy products, cheese, juice, and teas. It processed milk in the United States under a numb ...

to create the "new" Dean Foods Company in 2001.

References

{{Defunct law firms of the United States Defunct law firms of the United States 1998 establishments in Washington, D.C. 2006 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Law firms established in 1998 Law firms disestablished in 2006

Notable Mandates

See also

References