Venable LLP is an American

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 ...

headquartered in

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 ...

It is the largest law firm in the state of Maryland. Founded in 1900 by Richard Venable in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Venable operates 13 offices across the United States and employs about 850 professionals specializing in regulatory, litigation, corporate, and investigations matters. In 2021, Venable was ranked as the 78th highest grossing law firm in the world. From 2020 to 2021, Venable's total revenue grew from

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

681.8 million to $717 million. Revenue per lawyer saw a similar increase, with each lawyer generating a revenue of $965,031 and each equity partner generating $1.23 million on average.

History

Venable was founded in 1900 by law professor Richard Venable in

. It became the second-largest law firm in the Baltimore-Washington area in 1999 when it merged with Washington-based Tucker Flyer. The firm expanded cross country to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 2006. In 2017, Venable headquarters moved to a new building in Washington, located at 600 Massachusetts Avenue. In one of the largest law firm mergers of 2018, Venable acquired the New York intellectual property firm Fitzpatrick Cella, which had 100 attorneys at the time. Venable opened a construction law office in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in January 2021, with firm chairman Stu Ingis stating that the decision to expand was founded on Venable's "history of measured, strategic growth through the addition of talented attorneys and practices in markets that support client needs". In ''

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.2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Venable terminated its lobbying deal with Sberbank, Russia's largest bank. It was known that Sberbank had paid more than $800,000 to Venable for lobbying since 2017, according to Senate records. In November 2022, Venable announced that it would merge with Genovese Joblove & Battista, a multi-practice Florida-based law firm with offices in Miami, Tampa, and Fort Lauderdale.

Notable alumni and current attorneys

Birch Bayh Birch Evans Bayh Jr. (; January 22, 1928 – March 14, 2019) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a member of United States Senate from 1963 to 1981. He was first elected t ...

, former U.S. Senator from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

* James H. Burnley IV, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation * John Marshall Butler, former U.S. Senator from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

* Benjamin Civiletti, former

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

* Doug Emhoff, former Managing Director of Venable's West Coast Offices, Partner at DLA Piper, husband of

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

and Second Gentleman of the United States * James W. Gerlach, former United States Representative, Pennsylvania *

Asa Hutchinson William Asa Hutchinson II (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, AY-sə''; born December 3, 1950) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 46th governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Part ...

, former Governor of Arkansas, former Undersecretary of

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

and former head of the

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking a ...

, former U.S. Representative from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

' 3rd congressional district * Glenn F. Ivey, Congressman for Maryland’s Fourth Congressional District, United States' House of Representatives * Amy Berman Jackson, District Judge on the

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a United States district court, federal district court in Washington, D.C. Along with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and ...

* Benson E. Legg, former Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of Maryland * Daniel E. Lungren, former United States Representative, California and former Attorney General of California * L. Paige Marvel, Article I

federal judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level. United States A U.S. federal judge is appointed by the U.S. president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Arti ...

for the

United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a Federal judiciary of the United States, federal trial court court of record, of record established by US Congress, Congress under Article One of the United States Constitution, Article ...

* Powell Moore, former White House Legislative staff member and U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense official * J. Frederick Motz, Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland * Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr., former federal judge on the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district cou ...

Mark Pryor Mark Lunsford Pryor (born January 10, 1963) is an American attorney, politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from Arkansas from 2003 to 2015. He previously served as Arkansas Attorney General, Attorney ...

, former U.S. Senator from

* William D. Quarles, Jr., former United States District Judge for the District of Maryland * Karl Racine, the first elected Attorney General of the District of Columbia *

James E. Rogan James Edward Rogan (born August 21, 1957) is an American judge of the Superior Court of California, adjunct law professor, author and former Member of the United States House of Representatives from California. He also formerly served as United ...

, former U.S. Representative of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and current judge of the

Superior Court of California Superior courts in California are the State court (United States), state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governm ...

* John Sarbanes, U.S. Representative, Maryland's 3rd congressional district *

Paul Sarbanes Paul Spyros Sarbanes (; February 3, 1933 – December 6, 2020) was an American politician and attorney from Maryland. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served in both chambers of the United States Congr ...

, former U.S. Representative from Maryland and former U.S. Senator from Maryland * Brian Schwalb, Attorney General for the District of Columbia * Ari Schwartz, former member of the White House National Security Council where he served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Cybersecurity * Bart Stupak, former U.S. Representative from Michigan's 1st congressional district * Roger W. Titus, federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland * Robert L. Wilkins, United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Law firms based in Washington, D.C. Patent law firms Law firms established in 1900 American companies established in 1900