DLA Piper

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DLA Piper

Headquarters	Decentralized
# of Offices	63
# of Attorneys	3,200+
Major Practice Areas	General Practice
Date Founded	2005 (merger)
Company Type	"global legal services organization"
Website	dlapiper.com

DLA Piper (known until 4 September 2006 as DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary) is the third largest law firm in the world by number of attorneys after Clifford Chance and Baker & McKenzie. DLA Piper is a legal services organization whose members and affiliates are separate and distinct legal entities.[1]

Together, the organization boasts more than 3,200 lawyers in over 24 countries and 63 cities throughout the world, including every continent except Antarctica. DLA Piper was formed as a result of the 2005 merger of San Diego-based Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP, London-based DLA LLP (previously Dipp Lupton Alsop), and Piper Rudnick LLP (itself a 1999 merger of Baltimore-based Piper & Marbury and Chicago-based Rudnick & Wolfe). Recent financial figures from The Lawyer rank the firm second to Clifford Chance in worldwide turnover with over $1.5 billion in revenue for 2005.[2]

[edit] Management

The firm is managed globally by three joint chief executive officers: Nigel Knowles, Frank Burch, and Lee Miller. The three were previously the managing partners of legacy firms (DLA, Piper & Marbury, and Rudnick & Wolfe, respectively). The Chairman of the firm's Global Board is former U.S. Democratic Senator George Mitchell, who chaired the peace negotiations which led to the 1998 Belfast Peace Agreement.

[edit] Awards

The firm has won many awards, including Global Law Firm of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2006 in London (beating out Baker & McKenzie, Gide Loyrette Nouel, Latham & Watkins, Linklaters, and White & Case) and Law Firm of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2005, which said, "DLA Piper is leading the legal business community by example." [3]