Founded in Chicago in 1949 by Russell Baker and John McKenzie, Baker & McKenzie is an international law firm.

1. Law Firm Profile
Baker McKenzie
By Rebecca Neely
Founded in Chicago in 1949 by Russell Baker and John McKenzie, Baker & McKenzie is an international law firm. The firm employs
more than 3,750 lawyers in 68 offices in 39 different countries. The firm serves more than 500 of the world’s largest companies.
Over six decades, Baker & McKenzie has organized, governed development in that region. Baker & McKenzie was one of the
and managed the firm to cultivate a global mindset, an first firms to establish offices in the East after the Iron Curtain
awareness of distinct business cultures, a collaborative nature fell. Further, the firm merged with MacDonald, Halsted, and
and practical knowledge so as to navigate complexity across Laybourne to start offices in Los Angeles and San Diego. By
issues, practices and borders with ease. 1990, the firm operated nearly 50 offices on 6 continents,
employed nearly 1,500 attorneys, and generated over $400
Founded in 1949, Baker & McKenzie actually began when million in revenues.
Russell Baker opened his practice in 1925, after graduating
from the University of Chicago School of Law. Baker, though In 1999, the firm celebrated its 50th anniversary. That same
born in Wisconsin, was raised in New Mexico. From an early year, Christine Lagarde - then-Paris managing partner and
age he was exposed to the Spanish language and other an antitrust and labor lawyer - was elected Chairman of the
cultures. The earliest firm, Baker & Simpson, provided legal Global Executive Committee, the first woman to lead Baker &
services to Chicago’s growing Mexican American community. McKenzie. She was Chairman for five years. In 2004, Forbes
The firm soon positioned itself to advise US companies listed Lagarde as No. 76 in its list of “Most Powerful Women in
investing in Latin America. the World.”
Abbott Laboratories became a chief client in 1934 as it In 2001, the firm employed nearly 3,000 attorneys and had $2
expanded overseas. In 1949, the firm re-launched with billion in revenues. Baker & McKenzie adopted a Swiss Verein
John McKenzie, an experienced litigator who had graduated structure on July 1, 2004. In 2005, the firm received a large
from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. McKenzie boost when nearly 70 partners and other legal staff from the
took charge of the flourishing litigation practice, and Baker New York office of the disbanding international firm Coudert
was able to devote his energies to building an international Brothers joined Baker & McKenzie.
practice. Through the 1950s, the firm’s clients grew to include
Eli Lilly and Company, G. D. Searle & Company, Wm. Wrigley In October 2006, Unilever chose the firm to manage its global
Jr. Company and Honeywell. trademark portfolio, the largest in the world with over 160,000
registrations. It was the first time a multinational company
In 1955, the firm became international when a lawyer in outsourced its trademark management to a law firm on such a
Venezuela contacted Baker & McKenzie about opening a joint large scale.
venture office in Caracas. Donald Baker, the name partner’s
son, soon moved to Caracas to launch a practice for the In October 2010, the firm both opened an office in
firm. In the next three years, the firm established offices in Luxembourg, its 68th office worldwide, and Eduardo Leite was
Washington, D.C., Brussels, Zurich, New York and São Paulo. elected Chairman. He is the Firm’s first chairman from Latin
America.
Unlike other American firms that often practiced U.S. law
abroad, Baker & McKenzie made a decision to train local Some of the significant cases the firm has tried include Baker
lawyers, often bringing them to the Chicago base for an initial & McKenzie’s representation of five leading luxury goods and
period or temporarily relocating U.S. attorneys to the foreign fashion brands in 2005, in an action against the landlord of
office to oversee the establishment of the practice. By 1978 the infamous Silk Market Shopping mall where counterfeit
Baker & McKenzie had 26 offices in 20 countries. goods were sold. The Intermediate and Higher People’s Courts
both confirmed the landlord was jointly and severally liable for
In 1986, the firm established offices in Northern Mexico failing to stop infringements by vendors after being notified of
to facilitate legal transactions connected to industrial them, making this the first time a landlord is held responsible
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2. Law Firm Profile
for the illegal activities of their tenants in the judicial history PLC Which Lawyer?’s Global 50 each of the past five years;
of China. This case was also recognized as a “Top Ten” case by Asia Law Firm of the Year, 2005–2009; Latin America Law Firm
the Beijing Higher People’s Court. of the Year, three of the past five years; Middle East Law Firm
of the Year, 2008 and 2009; Central Eastern Europe Law
In 2006, Baker McKenzie wrote the amicus brief of the Firm of the Year, 2008, and in 2010, was the recipient of the
Council of Parent Attorneys Advocates (COPAA) in support first Corporate Pro Bono Partnering Award from the Pro Bono
of the petition for a writ of certiorari in Winkelman v. Parma Institute. In addition, the firm was recognized in 2008 for the
City School District, and later, COPAA’s amicus brief on the second year in a row by Working Mother magazine as one of
merits. It argued that parents have the right to represent the Best Law Firms for Women.
themselves in court to enforce their IDEA rights and protect
their children’s access to a free appropriate public education. Also, since 2005, Baker McKenzie has been one of seven
This led to a unanimous Supreme Court decision in June 2007 law firms who are members of Diversity Champions, a ‘good
granting parents the right to proceed without counsel on practices’ program for blue-chip and major public sector
behalf of children with disabilities. employers. Diversity Champions is an effort of Stonewall, a
UK-based lobbying group dedicated to the rights of lesbians,
In 2007, the firm advised American Standard on the $1.7 gay men and bisexuals.
billion sale of its bath and kitchen products business and the
wider separation of the company’s operations. Completion of In November 2010, Baker McKenzie announced the
the deal involved 600 of the firm’s lawyers spread over 40 publication of Pro Bono Service by In-House Counsel:
offices. Strategies and Perspectives, a first-of-its-kind book designed
to provide in-house counsel with best practices for developing
In 2007, Baker McKenzie LLP acted as U.S. counsel for in-house pro bono efforts. Baker McKenzie’s Global CSR
the Gas Natural Group in a $1.4 billion energy acquisition, Program is based on three pillars of pro bono and community
the largest mergers and acquisitions deal in Mexico in 2007. service; diversity and inclusion; and sustainability. The
The transaction represented the entry of the Spanish energy Firm’s involvement in Pro Bono Service by In-House Counsel:
multinational into the Mexican electricity generation business Strategies and Perspectives is a hallmark of its longstanding
as the second largest private operator, making Gas Natural the commitment to responsible corporate citizenship.
only operator of both gas and electricity in Mexico.
Baker McKenzie offers its clients and its people the
In 2010, the firm advised Bemis Company Inc. on the uncompromising commitment to excellence expected of a top
acquisition of the Food Americas division of Alcan Packaging firm and a distinctive way of thinking, working and behaving,
Inc., a business unit of Rio Tinto plc, for $1.2 billion. The deal as a passionately global and genuinely collaborative firm.
included the acquisition of 23 facilities in the US, Canada, The firm has more leading lawyers in more countries in the
Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and New Zealand and involved a Chambers Global Directory than any other global Top 20 law
Baker McKenzie team of lawyers from Chicago, London, firm. Chambers lists 19 of the firm’s practices in its global
Monterrey, São Paulo and Toronto. rankings of the world’s leading practices.
Baker McKenzie has been the recipient of countless awards
over the years. Some of these include being named No. 1 in
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