Foley & Lardner LLP announced today its rankings in the 2010 Legal 500 guide for the U.S. and Japan. The firm has a total of 17 practices recognized this year and was ranked in several new practices areas including Corporate Restructuring; Project Finance; Structured Finance; patent Licensing; Marketing and Advertising; Technology; Mergers & Acquisitions; and Tax.
Published for over 20 years, the Legal 500 guides provide comprehensive worldwide coverage on legal services providers in over 100 countries. These guides are widely regarded as offering the definitive judgment of law firm capabilities. Rankings are achieved solely on merit and based largely on the feedback received from firm clients and lawyers. The Legal 500 research team speaks to thousands of law firm clients and other lawyers to gather the independent insight needed to produce a solid qualitative assessment.
Here is a listing of the firm’s ranked practices:
Corporate Restructuring
Attorneys in this practice are recognized as “proactive and thoughtful.”
Project Finance: advice to lender: Mary Ann Christopher, James T. Tynion III
Foley is recognized in the Legal 500 guide as a regular feature in wind and solar energy projects. Christopher and Tynion are noted as being responsible for leading the team that successfully tendered to represent the Indiana Finance Authority on the Indiana Gasification SNG Plant.
Structured Finance: David M. Reicher, David B. Ryan
Reicher and Ryan are recommended for having developed a strong educational finance practice, which has acted as issuer’s and transaction counsel, underwriters’ counsel, bond counsel, or special tax counsel in the issuance of billions of dollars of student loan asset-backed securities since 1977.
Patent Licensing
Clients hold Foley’s patent licensing practice in high regard, recognizing that the firm has especially strong links to Asia and represents several Japanese clients.
Patent Litigation: high-tech, electronics and IT
Attorneys in this practice are recommended for providing “very client oriented service to an impressive client roster,” and clients state the firm benefits from “superb knowledge of often complex subject matter.”
Patent Prosecution: utility and design patents: Mark A. Kassel (Leading Lawyer)
This practice is recommended for being “fantastic on all fronts,” and clients praise the firm for its “efficient and seamless work.” Kassel is listed as a Leading Lawyer and described as being “very, very good.”
Marketing and Advertising
Sports: Mary K. Braza
The Sports practice at Foley is noted as being one of the biggest sports law practices in the U.S., handling transactions, litigation, intellectual property, antitrust and financing matters for local and major league teams.
Technology: data protection and privacy
Technology: outsourcing
This Foley practice is recommended for providing “expeditious and accurate service,” and clients say the firm’s technology lawyers are “the best in the business.”
Mergers & Acquisitions: middle market: Jay O. Rothman, Bryan S. Schultz
The Legal 500 guide recommends this Foley practice for “impressing clients by driving and counseling them through M&A deals.”
Construction: Central
Clients describe Foley attorneys in this practice as “among the best.”
Real Estate: Central
Real Estate: East Coast
The Legal 500 guide recommends this Foley practice, stating that its team has a “first-rate knowledge of the local markets.”
Real Estate: West Coast
Attorneys in this practice are noted as having particular expertise relating to the hospitality and leisure industry.
Domestic tax: East Coast
Intellectual property: Japan: International firms and joint ventures
