Foley & Lardner LLP (often referred to simply as "Foley") is an international law firm founded in 1842. In terms of revenue, it ranked 48th on

The American Lawyer ''The American Lawyer'' is a monthly legal magazine and website published by ALM Media. The periodical and its parent company, ALM (then American Lawyer Media), were founded in 1979 by Steven Brill.AmLaw 100 rankings of U.S. law firms, with over $1 billion in gross revenue in 2021.

History

The oldest and largest law firm in Wisconsin, it was established in 1842 as Finch & Lynde. Its founders were Asahel Finch Jr., a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and former Michigan state representative, and

William Pitt Lynde William Pitt Lynde (December 16, 1817December 18, 1885) was an American lawyer, U.S. congressman, and Wisconsin pioneer. He represented Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin in the 30th, 44th, and 45th congresses, and served as the 12th mayor o ...

, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

who later served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, the Wisconsin state legislature, and as

mayor of Milwaukee This is a list of mayors of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. List External linksJS Online {{Mayors of the City of Milwaukee Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin Mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal governmen ...

. By 1970 the firm was beginning to grow substantially, and in 2001, after absorbing firms in Chicago and Washington, D.C., it was the 11th largest firm in the United States. In 1969 the firm adopted the name Foley & Lardner LLP and launched a succession of acquisitions to become a national law firm."Foley & Lardner History"
FundingUniverse.com (accessed 2013-04-12). The name refers to two name partners, both corporate lawyers: Leon Foley and Lynford Lardner Jr. Both Leon Foley and Lynford Lardner are credited with launching the law firm's large national expansion. Foley, who acted as a strategist in the development of Aurora Health Care System, which would become Wisconsin’s largest healthcare provider, died at 83 in 1978. Lardner, who also served as the president of the United States Golf Association, died after drowning in the

Milwaukee River The Milwaukee River is a river in the state of Wisconsin. It is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 19, 2011 Once a locus of industry, the river is now the c ...

. Lardner is survived by four grandchildren. When the firm merged with Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in 2018, the plan (at least initially) was to use, in some cities, a firm name including the name partner name "Gardere". In 2020, Foley & Lardner partner Cleta Mitchell aided Trump in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and pressure election officials to "find" votes for him to defeat then

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

candidate and current

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

, Joe Biden. Mitchell criticized Georgia Secretary of State

Brad Raffensperger Bradford Jay Raffensperger (born May 18, 1955) is an American politician, businessman, and civil engineer, serving as the Secretary of State of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Georgia House of Re ...

, accusing him without evidence of saying things "that are simply not correct" about the presidential results in Georgia. She also claimed without evidence that dead people voted in the election. When confronted with why a Foley & Lardner partner was involved in aiding Trump in overturning the 2020 election, Foley & Lardner distanced itself from Mitchell. On January 5, 2021, Foley & Lardner announced that Mitchell had resigned. In 2021 Foley & Lardner opened its 25th office, in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. Foley & Lardner's primary practice areas include

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 ...

, business law, litigation, and

regulatory Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

. Notable clients of the firm include the Nicholas Maduro regime in Venezuela,

Johnson Controls Johnson Controls International is an American Irish-domiciled multinational conglomerate headquartered in Cork, Ireland, that produces fire, HVAC, and security equipment for buildings. As of mid-2019, it employed 105,000 people in around 2,00 ...

, CVS,

Harley Davidson Harley may refer to: People * Harley (given name) * Harley (surname) Places * Harley, Ontario, a township in Canada * Harley, Brant County, Ontario, Canada * Harley, Shropshire, England * Harley, South Yorkshire, England * Harley Street, in L ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, and Acciona.

Notable current and former employees

William M. Conley William Martin Conley (born May 25, 1956) is an American lawyer and a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. Early life and education Born in Rice L ...

, U.S. District Court judge for the Western District of Wisconsin, was a partner in the Madison office *

Jim Doyle James Edward Doyle, Jr., (born November 23, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Wisconsin, serving from January 6, 2003 to January 3, 2011. In his first election to the governorship, he defeated incum ...

, Former Governor of Wisconsin, is of counsel in the Madison office * Bob DuPuy, former president and chief operating officer of

, has been a partner in the Milwaukee and New York offices * Thomas E. Fairchild, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge and Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, was an associate in the Milwaukee office from 1945 to 1948 *

Russ Feingold Russell Dana Feingold ( ; born March 2, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee in the 2016 election for the same U ...

, Former United States Senator from Wisconsin, was an associate in the Madison office *

Brian Hagedorn Brian Keith Hagedorn (born January 21, 1978) is an American lawyer and a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, serving since 2019. Prior to his election to the Supreme Court, he served four years as a judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in t ...

, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, worked at the Milwaukee office * William Isaac, Chairman of the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cr ...

from 1981 to 1985 and current Chairman of consulting firm LECG’s Global Financial Services * Joan F. Kessler,

Wisconsin Court of Appeals The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court that reviews contested decisions of the Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of app ...

Judge, was a partner in the Milwaukee office *

Scott L. Klug Scott Leo Klug (born January 16, 1953) is an American lobbyist, author, and businessman, as well as a former politician and television reporter. From 1991-1999, he was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Wiscon ...

, Former United States Congressman from

Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in southern Wisconsin, covering Dane County, Iowa County, Lafayette County, Sauk County and Green County, as well as portions of ...

, is a public affairs director in the Madison office * Brett H. Ludwig, U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, was a partner at the Milwaukee office * Marcia Morales Howard, U.S. District Court judge for the Middle District of Florida, was an associate in the Jacksonville office * Lisa S. Neubauer, Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge and candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, was a partner in the Milwaukee office *Ulice Payne Jr., Former CEO of the Milwaukee Brewers and first African-American CEO of a

franchise, was a partner in the Milwaukee office *

Fred Ridley Fred Scobie Ridley (born August 16, 1952) is an American amateur golfer and golf administrator who won the U.S. Amateur in 1975, was elected president of the United States Golf Association (USGA) in 2004, and then became chairman of Augusta Nat ...

, current Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, is a partner in the Tampa office, former national chair of the Real Estate Practice, a member of the Hospitality & Leisure (former co-chair) and Sports Industry Teams, a member of the Transactions Practice, and a former member of the firm’s Management Committee. * Manuel Rocha, Former U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia (2000–02), is a Senior Advisor on International Business in the Miami office * Cleta Mitchell, attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and subsequently resigned. * Antonin Scalia,

United States Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

, was a summer associate in the Milwaukee office * Dennis Cardoza, Former United States Congressman from

California's 18th congressional district California's 18th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California. The district is currently represented by . It includes portions of Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz counties, extending from ...

, in a public affairs and lobbying role.https://www.foley.com/en/people/c/cardoza-dennis-a

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley and Lardner Law firms established in 1842 Law firms based in Milwaukee Foreign law firms with offices in Japan