Reed Smith

Reed Smith LLP
Headquarters	Pittsburgh
No. of offices	23
No. of attorneys	1,600+
Major practice areas	General practice
Revenue	$940 million USD [1]
Date founded	1877 (Pittsburgh)
Founder	Philander Knox and James Hay Reed
Company type	Limited liability partnership
Slogan	The business of relationships.
Website
www.reedsmith.com

Reed Smith LLP^[1] is a global law firm, with more than 1,600 lawyers in 23 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Reed Smith represents leading international businesses from FTSE 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises.

The firm is known for its activity in advising companies across a broad array of industry sectors including: financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, technology and media, shipping, energy trade and commodities, real estate, manufacturing and education.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Reed Smith's expansion to date 2 Recognition 3 Notable mandates 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

History

Founded in 1877, as the Pittsburgh firm Knox and Reed by partners Philander Knox and James Hay Reed, Reed Smith has built practices in financial services, life sciences, health care, and other sectors.

James Reed was also a prominent member of the secretive South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club which created the artificial Lake Conemaugh through the clubs purchase of land from the Pennsylvania Railroad. The dam holding back Lake Conemaugh failed on May 31, 1889, causing the Johnstown Flood which killed over 2,200 people and caused US$17 million in damage.

Reed Smith's expansion to date

In 2008:

• The firm enhanced its New York presence with the arrival of more than 50 lawyers from the insurance heavyweight Anderson Kill & Olick. The firm also launched in Beijing with the joining in that market of legacy operations from Dewey Ballantine.

In 2007:

• Reed Smith merged with the London based firm Richards Butler, adding more than 250 lawyers in London, Paris, Piraeus, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The union brought added depth to several key practices and created new practice groups in shipping and energy, trade & commodities.
• In October 2007, Reed Smith completed a merger with Richards Butler's independent Hong Kong office. The partnership went live in January 2008, providing Reed Smith with a strong presence in the Asian market as one of Hong Kong's five largest international firms.

In 2005:

• Reed Smith opened offices in Munich and Paris.

In 2003:

• Reed Smith combined with California-based Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May adding four significant offices and more than 200 lawyers in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. The union strengthened firm practices in appellate law, complex litigation, business, finance and other areas.

In 2001:

• Reed Smith merged with UK based Warner Cranston.

Recognition

Notable Reed Smith recognition includes:

• Ranked 1st out of 411 law firms by The BTI Client Relationship Scorecard for building and maintaining client relationships, June 2009.
• Middle East team of the year by The Lawyer, 2009.
• CSR firm of the year by Legal Business, 2008.
• Ranked 1st place out of international firms and 8th place out of all participating firms in the UK Diversity League Table survey published by Black Solicitors Network, for 2008.
• Reed Smith's Product Liability Group was named among Top 3 in The American Lawyer Litigation Department of the Year awards in 2008 and 2006.

Notable mandates

• Advised long-standing client Mellon Financial Corporation in its $16.5 billion merger with the Bank of New York.
• Through its Hong Kong office, the firm advised SABMiller as a selling shareholder in Anheuser-Busch's HK$5.6 billion tender offer for the Harbin Brewery Group.
• Counseled Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. in various acquisitions and stake purchases throughout Europe.

See also

• Johnstown Flood
• List of 100 largest law firms globally

References

External links

• Official website
• LawPeriscope Profile
• Twitter Profile