Edwards Wildman was an AmLaw 100 law firm. It was formed from the 2011 merger of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge and Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon. Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge had been formed by the 2005 merger of Edwards & Angell LLP and Palmer & Dodge LLP. In 2008, Boston-based Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge also merged with

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based Kendall Freeman, a 40-attorney firm with specialties in dispute resolution, litigation, and both contentious and regulatory

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

and

reinsurance Reinsurance is insurance that an insurance company purchases from another insurance company to insulate itself (at least in part) from the risk of a major claims event. With reinsurance, the company passes on ("cedes") some part of its own insu ...

. Edwards Wildman had 15 offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. On January 10, 2015, the merger between

Locke Lord Locke Lord LLP is an international law firm formed on October 2, 2007, after the combination of Texas-based Locke Liddell & Sapp PLLC and Lord Bissell & Brook LLP. Locke Lord's earliest predecessor firms date from 1887 and 1891. The firm is hea ...

and Edwards Wildman Palmer went live, and is now known as

Locke Lord LLP Locke Lord LLP is an international law firm formed on October 2, 2007, after the combination of Texas-based Locke Liddell & Sapp PLLC and Lord Bissell & Brook LLP. Locke Lord's earliest predecessor firms date from 1887 and 1891. The firm is hea ...

Leadership

Prior to the merger, Alan Levin was the chairman of Edwards Wildman.

Practice areas

Edwards Wildman attorneys practiced in the areas of antitrust/competition, business law, cross border, debt finance and capital markets, environmental, insurance and reinsurance, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, privacy and data protection, private client, public finance, public policy and government relations, real estate, restructuring and insolvency, tax, benefits and compensation, and technology, media, and telecommunications. The attorneys at Edwards Wildman focus on corporate and financial transactions, complex litigation, intellectual property, and insurance and reinsurance. Particular areas of strength include venture capital and private equity. Edwards Wildman has over 125 years of experience, working with Fortune 500, FTSE 250 clients and start-up companies.

Representative Matters

In August 2012, Edwards Wildman acted as legal adviser to Thomson Reuters in Connecticut's first captive insurer. The firm's role in the establishment of the first captive insurance company in Connecticut sparked widespread media coverage. Edwards Wildman also advised

Stanley Black & Decker Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., formerly known as The Stanley Works, is a Fortune 500 American manufacturer of industrial tools and household hardware and provider of security products. Headquartered in the greater Hartford city of New Britain, ...

when it moved its captive insurer to Connecticut from Vermont, becoming Connecticut's second licensed captive. Shawn Elliot Atkinson, a partner at Edwards Wildman and co-chair of cross border, lead a cross border team on the sale of GTS Central Europe to Deutsche Telekom, for approximately $900 million. Al Sokol, a partner at Edwards Wildman, advised two start-up biotech companies on an innovative approach to structuring, converting them from C corporations to limited liability companies. Sokol gave a presentation on this new structure. Edwards Wildman had a debt finance and capital markets practice that represents global financial institutions, banks, finance companies, insurance companies, hedge funds, and other institutional lenders. Stephen Huggard, partner and chair of Edwards Wildman's white collar and government enforcement practice group, represented Mark Philip, the former president of Hopkinton, Mass.-based Stryker Biotech, following two indictments; charges were dropped as of February 2, 2012. Edwards Wildman was commended in the ''Financial Times'' 2012 survey of most innovative law firms in recognition of the firm's defense of Mark Philip, the former president of Stryker Biotech, against Federal Drug Administration charges that included wire fraud. Darlene Alt and Robert DiUbaldo, two attorneys in Edwards Wildman's Insurance and Reinsurance Department, discussed critical business questions in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in Insurance Journal. Alt and DiUbaldo analyzed the business impact of Sandy and how corporations and small- to medium-sized businesses are recovering. David Bogan, a partner in Edwards Wildman's Hartford office, explained the details of Ct. Gov. Dannel Malloy's new Comprehensive Energy Strategy for Connecticut and what steps need to be taken for it to be successful. David Bogan's practice focuses on utility and energy regulatory issues. Attorneys in Edwards Wildman's Private Client Group examined trends in charitable giving and whether it would be preferable to make a substantial gift in 2012 or wait until 2013 with potential tax law changes around the corner. TheStreet cited Edwards Wildman's analysis in a December 2012 article. Edwards Wildman partner Becket McGrath analyzes planned changes to the criminal cartel offense in the UK. McGrath also explains why US companies active in the UK should be paying attention to the recent changes of the criminal cartel offense. Edwards Wildman is a sponsor of several startup contests and organizations including the

MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition The MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition is a student-managed business plan competition, where undergraduates and postgraduates from various programs and all levels at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT) organize and enter the comp ...

. The firm is also a sponsor of TiE Boston. Alden Zecha, CFO & Strategist of Sproxil, Inc., explained how the Edwards Wildman HIT Program has helped his company thrive. Boris Revsin, Founder and CEO of Dailybreak, commented on how the Edwards Wildman HIT Program assisted the growth of Dailybreak (formerly known as CampusLIVE). Richard Kimball, co-chair of Edwards Wildman's Technology practice and founder of the firm's HIT program, was honored as an Outstanding Partner to TiE-Boston Programs for his contributions to the organization's bootcamps and conference planning in 2012. Edwards Wildman’s Helping Innovators Thrive (HIT) program was lauded for providing top-level legal counsel to entrepreneurs in Dr. David Greenwald’s lecture on entrepreneurship at Tufts University. Steve Rowan, deputy chief operating officer for Edwards Wildman's Europe and Asia offices, participated in a Q&A with The Lawyer about how his role has changed at the firm, key ways to improve firm efficiency, and the impact of structural changes in the legal industry. Edwards Wildman attorney Jonny McDonald, based in London, contributed an article to Legal Week discussing how his military background prepared him for a career in the legal industry. Mark Peters, a partner in Edwards Wildman's Insurance and Reinsurance Department in New York, wrote an article about how in the wake of the Vito Lopez scandal, reform is even more sorely needed in the legislature in the New York Daily News. Peters also authored an article in CFO magazine on protections afforded consumers when an insurance company becomes insolvent.

Rankings/honors

The Financial Times announced on November 28, 2012 that Edwards Wildman had earned a spot on the "commended" list of litigation practices in its 2012 list of "most innovative law firms" in recognition of the firm's defense of Mark Philip, the former president of Stryker Biotech, against Federal Drug Administration charges that included wire fraud. Reactions magazine, a leading insurance publication, named Edwards Wildman "Best Global Law Firm of the Year" at its Global Awards in September 2012. The firm was also recognized as first in the US for overall law firm and in the areas of regulation and insolvency in the US, as well as in litigation in the London market; second in reinsurance in the US and in the London market; and third in litigation in the US and in regulation in Bermuda. Edwards Wildman received the award of "London Office of the Year" at the British Legal Awards 2012, which are organized by Legal Week. The firm was selected for successfully executing strategic mergers, hiring key lateral partners to significantly expand the office, providing entrepreneurs with the opportunity to grow through Edwards Wildman's "Helping Innovators Thrive" program, and maintaining its long-standing commitment to pro bono and corporate responsibility. Edwards Wildman's London office has doubled its client base and revenue since 2008 and has expanded from 60 fee earners in 2008 to more than 90 today. In February 2012, Legal Business UK shortlisted Edwards Wildman in the category of "US Law Firm of the Year." In May 2012, The Lawyer shortlisted Edwards Wildman in the category of "International Law Firm of the Year." Chambers USA ranked Edwards Wildman attorneys or practices in the following categories in its 2012 edition:

, corporate/M&A,

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

/restructuring,

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

litigation - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

public finance Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics that assesses the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities and the adjustment of one or the other to achie ...

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

, privacy &

data security Data security means protecting digital data, such as those in a database, from destructive forces and from the unwanted actions of unauthorized users, such as a cyberattack or a data breach. Technologies Disk encryption Disk encryption refe ...

and labor &

employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

. In 2013, Chambers UK ranked Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP attorneys or practices in the following categories:

, competition/European law, dispute resolution, employment,

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

investment, public international law and restructuring/insolvency. Edwards Wildman was named to BTI's Client Service A-Team for 2013, a ranking which identifies top law firms for client service through a national survey of corporate counsel. US News/Best Lawyers recognized Edwards Wildman in 62 practice areas in its 2013 survey of "Best Law Firms", including litigation, intellectual property, insurance, tax, banking and finance, public finance, education law, trusts and estates law, mergers & acquisitions, private equity and corporate governance, among others. Edwards Wildman earned a perfect score in the 2013 Corporate Equality Index and Best Places to Work Survey from the Human Rights Campaign for the fifth consecutive year. The Legal 500 UK recommended Edwards Wildman's London office in 17 categories in its 2012 edition, including in corporate and commercial, dispute resolution, finance, insurance, technology, media and telecoms, and transportation.

Diversity

Paulette Brown Paulette Brown is an American lawyer who was the president of the American Bar Association for a one-year term from August 4, 2015 to August 2016. She was nominated for the presidency and was later confirmed by the organization's House of Delegate ...

served as the firm's

Chief diversity officer The chief diversity officer (CDO) is an organization’s executive level diversity and inclusion strategist, whose job may include, but is not limited to, addressing discrimination in the workplace, launching initiative to change organizational cul ...

; she is a Madison, N.J.-based partner in Edwards Wildman's labor and employment practice group. Brown spoke on an ABA panel about implicit bias in August 2012. Brown is the president-elect of the American Bar Association and will take office in August 2015. Brown will be the first woman of color to lead the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

. A longtime advocate for diversity, Brown will be the ABA’s sixth woman president since its inception in 1878 and the third African-American. Emily Yu, an associate in Edwards Wildman's Real Estate Department, was named a 2013 "Up & Coming Lawyer" by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

Offices

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

* Madison, NJ *

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

* Stamford *

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Law firms established in 2005 Foreign law firms with offices in Hong Kong Law firms based in Boston 2011 mergers and acquisitions