Editing Goodwin Procter

{{short description|American law firm}}
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{{Infobox law firm
| name           = Goodwin Procter LLP
| logo           = Goodwin_Procter_Logo.svg
| headquarters    = [[Boston]], Massachusetts, U.S.
| num_offices     = 16
| num_attorneys   = approximately 1800
| num_employees   = approximately 2800
| practice_areas  = General practice
| key_people      = Regina Pisa<br/>([[Chairman]] ''[[emeritus]]'')<ref>Amon, Elizabeth [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-10/goodwin-chairwoman-pisa-to-step-down-business-of-law "Goodwin Chairwoman Pisa to Step Down: Business of Law"] Bloomberg L.P., July 10, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.</ref><br/>
Anthony J. McCusker<br/>([[Chairman]])<br/> Mark Bettencourt <br/>([[Managing partner]])
| revenue         = {{increase}} $2.244 billion [[United States dollar|USD]] (2023)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/law-firm-profile/?id=123&name=Goodwin|website=Law.com}}</ref>|profit_per_equity_partner={{increase}} $3.69 million [[United States dollar|USD]] (2021)<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 4, 2020|first=Patrick|last=Smith|title=Sky-High Demand Pushes Goodwin to More Than 30% Growth in Revenue, Profit Pool|url=https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2022/03/04/sky-high-demand-pushes-goodwin-to-more-than-30-growth-in-revenue-profit-pool/?slreturn=20220815121556|access-date=2022-09-15|website=Law.com|language=en|quote=The firm crossed the $3 million mark for PEP for the first time.}}</ref>
| date_founded    = 1912
| founders        = Robert Goodwin and Joseph Procter
| company_type    = [[Limited liability partnership]]
| homepage        = {{URL|http://www.goodwinlaw.com/}}
| dissolved       =
}}

'''Goodwin Procter LLP''' is an American multinational [[law firm]]. It is one of the largest law firms in the world as measured by revenue and consists of more than 1,800 lawyers across offices in [[Boston]], [[Cambridge]], [[Frankfurt]], [[Munich]], [[Hong Kong]], [[London]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Luxembourg]], [[New York City]], [[Paris]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Santa Monica]], [[Silicon Valley]], [[San Francisco]], [[Singapore]], and [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/international-edition/2021/09/21/the-2021-global-200-ranked-by-gross-revenue/|title=The 2021 Global 200: Ranked by Gross Revenue|website=Law.com|language=en-US|access-date=2022-09-15}}</ref> Goodwin focuses on complex transactional work, high-stakes litigation and advisory services in matters involving [[financial institutions]], [[intellectual property]], [[private equity]], [[real estate investment trusts|real estate capital markets]], [[securities]] litigation, [[white collar crime|white collar]] defense, [[technology]] and [[life sciences]].

Goodwin currently has over 2,800 employees worldwide, representing a nearly 30% increase in lawyers and staff since January 2021, and more than a 60% increase overall since 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://firsthand.co/company-profiles/law/goodwin-procter-llp|title=Goodwin Procter Company Profile|website=Firsthand|language=en-US|access-date=2022-09-15}}</ref> This growth has been mirrored by the firm's rising revenues, which increased from $1.33 billion in 2019 to $1.49 billion in 2020, and reaching $1.97 billion in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 4, 2020|first=Patrick|last=Smith|title=Sky-High Demand Pushes Goodwin to More Than 30% Growth in Revenue, Profit Pool|url=https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2022/03/04/sky-high-demand-pushes-goodwin-to-more-than-30-growth-in-revenue-profit-pool/?slreturn=20220815121556|access-date=2022-09-15|website=Law.com|language=en|quote=The firm saw its revenue jump from $1.49 billion in 2020 to $1.97 billion in 2021.}}</ref> Between 2010 and 2021, Goodwin's annual revenue nearly tripled.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/how-goodwins-big-bet-on-tech-convergence-pushed-up-revenue|title=How Goodwin's Big Bet on Tech 'Convergence' Pushed Up Revenue|website=Bloomberg Law|language=en-US|access-date=2022-09-15}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Goodwin Procter Boston Office (cropped1).jpg|thumb|300x300px|Goodwin's office in [[Boston|Boston's]] [[Seaport District]]]]
In 1912, lawyers and former [[Harvard]] classmates Robert Eliot Goodwin and Joseph Osborne Procter, Jr. ran into each other on the street and decided to start their own law firm, Goodwin & Procter, which opened its offices on July 1 that year at 84 [[State Street (Boston)|State Street]] in [[Boston]]. That winter, Robert Goodwin and [[Amos Taylor]] represented Mary Newell against the [[Oceanic Steam Navigation Company]] for the sum of $110,400 resulting from the April 15, 1912 [[sinking of the RMS Titanic|sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'']].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.titanicinquiry.org/lol/claims/newell-c62.php|title=TIP - Limitation of Liability Hearings - Claim of Mary E. Newell (Arthur Newell)|website=titanicinquiry.org}}</ref> Another case taken on in the firm's early days stemmed from the infamous [[pyramid scheme]] orchestrated in Boston by Charles Ponzi. After the scheme was exposed as fraud, Robert Goodwin served as the bankruptcy referee for Middlesex County amid thousands of recovery claims in the bankruptcy courts.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Obituaries: R.E. Goodwin, Lawyer; Town, State Official|date=July 29, 1971|work=Boston Globe}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} When the United States joined the allied cause in [[World War I]] in 1917, Robert Goodwin joined the country's vanguard deployment in France, eventually rising to the rank of colonel and assuming command of the [[101st Field Artillery]]. After the campaign, he was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Distinguished Service Medal]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://valor.defense.gov/Portals/24/Documents/ServiceCross/ArmyDSC-WWI.pdf|title=Distinguished Service Cross Recipients, World War I, 1917-1918|date=August 17, 2019|website=U.S. Department of Defense}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} Not long after, Samuel Hoar V, a litigator, was hired, followed by Fred Tarbell Field, a well-respected tax lawyer who was a friend of Procter's, and the firm became known as Goodwin, Procter, Field & Hoar. In early 1929, Field was appointed a justice of the [[Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts]] (and would later become its Chief Justice), and the firm was renamed Goodwin, Procter & Hoar, a name it would retain for the next 72 years.
The Depression years proved pivotal for the firm's future diversification and growth. Liquidation cases, including the unwinding of the Boston Continental Bank, provided a surge of business,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodwinlaw.com/-/media/files/our-firm/centennial_book.pdf|title=Goodwin Centennial Book|date=August 17, 2019|website=Goodwin}}</ref> as did the proliferation of federal agencies and regulations brought on by the New Deal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/depwwii/newdeal/|title=Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal - American Memory Timeline- Classroom Presentation {{!}} Teacher Resources - Library of Congress|website=www.loc.gov|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref> Around the same time, Greater Boston's manufacturing and maritime industries faded and the financial management industry expanded, presenting new opportunities for work on highly complex financial transactions.

Goodwin Procter also undertook matters involving public service and public policy, including public investigations of corruption and malfeasance, as well as cases with constitutional overtones. When the Massachusetts governor pardoned New England Mafia boss Raymond Patriarca in 1938, the resulting public furor led the Legislature to establish a commission to investigate the state's pardon and parole procedures. Sam Hoar, with Don Hurley as his lieutenant, headed the commission, whose resulting investigation led to reform of the pardon laws and impeachment of a member of the Governor's Council.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Will Call Hurley in Patriarca Inquiry|year=1939|work=Boston Globe}}</ref> More than 70 years later, the Commonwealth would once again call on Goodwin Procter lawyers to examine alleged corruption in the state's parole office.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2010/11/18/mass-court-probation|title=Report Finds 'Systemic Abuse' In Probation Hiring|website=wbur.org|date=18 November 2010 |language=en|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref>[[File: New York Times building.png|thumb|Goodwin's offices at the [[New York Times Building]]|220px|left]]

After World War II, partners Leonard Wheeler and Frank Wallis played instrumental roles in the historic Nuremberg Trials, presenting much of the Americans' case against the Nazis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://etseq.law.harvard.edu/2011/06/852-rare-the-weekly-special-hlsls-nuremberg-trials-project-grows/|title=852 RARE: The Weekly Special – HLSL's Nuremberg Trials Project Grows|website=etseq.law.harvard.edu|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1040690|title=American Major Frank B. Wallis (standing), a member of the trial counsel and trial preparation legal staff, presents the prosecution's case to the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. - Collections Search - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|website=collections.ushmm.org|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref> "It was a most amazing and thrilling experience," recalled Wallis. "I was speaking to the world - not only the world of today but the world of future generations."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodwinlaw.com/-/media/files/our-firm/centennial_book.pdf|title=Centennial Book|year=2012|website=Goodwin|access-date=August 17, 2019}}</ref> Post-war practice would not be business as usual as the firm reached a generational turning point, with Robert Goodwin entering semi-retirement and Sam Hoar's passing in 1952.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Samuel Hoar Gave Concord Land for Wild Life Sanctuary|date=August 19, 1952|work=Daily Boston Globe}}</ref> (Joe Procter had died earlier in 1932.)<ref>{{Cite news|title=Joshua Procter Jr Dies in Hospital|year=1932|work=Boston Globe}}</ref> Goodwin formally retired in 1963, ending a 60-year legal career; he died in 1971.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Obituaries: R.E. Goodwin, lawyer; town, state official|date=July 29, 1971|work=Boston Globe}}</ref>

In 1960, tax partners Allan Higgins and Charlie Post helped draft and secure passage of the Real Estate Investment Trust Act,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodwinlaw.com/-/media/files/our-firm/centennial_book.pdf|title=Goodwin Centennial Book|year=2012|website=Goodwin|access-date=August 17, 2019}}</ref> which was hailed as a significant catalyst for real estate development across the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reit.com/investing/reit-basics/reit-industry-timeline|title=REIT Industry Timeline|website=Nareit|language=en|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref> In 1963, partner Don Hurley played a role in conceiving, drafting and securing passage of an amendment to the Bank Holding Company Act exempting parent companies of single banks and non-banking subsidiaries from federal restrictions on commercial banks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodwinlaw.com/-/media/files/our-firm/centennial_book.pdf|title=Goodwin Centennial Book|year=2012|website=Goodwin|access-date=August 17, 2019}}</ref>

In 1969, after more than a half-century in the India Building at 84 State Street, the firm moved to a new office tower at 28 State, where it would remain for 16 years before moving to Exchange Place at 53 State Street in 1985.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodwinlaw.com/-/media/files/our-firm/centennial_book.pdf|title=Goodwin Centennial Book|year=2012|website=Goodwin|access-date=August 17, 2019}}</ref> To celebrate its 75th anniversary in 1987, the firm made a donation of $1 million to the City of Boston to fund initiatives in public education. The donation, called SEED (Support for Early Educational Development), was made up entirely of individual contributions by the firm's partners.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Law Firm Gives $1M to Boston Schools|last=Snyder|first=Sarah|date=February 11, 1987|work=Boston Globe}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jamaicaplaingazette.com/2016/07/08/obituary-robert-b-fraser-jp-resident-dies/|title=Obituary: Robert B. Fraser, JP resident, dies – Jamaica Plain Gazette|website=jamaicaplaingazette.com|date=8 July 2016|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref>

With 280 lawyers, Goodwin Procter entered the 1990s as the “largest law firm under one roof in the country,” according to ''Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jamaicaplaingazette.com/2016/07/08/obituary-robert-b-fraser-jp-resident-dies/|title=Obituary: Robert B. Fraser, JP resident, dies – Jamaica Plain Gazette|website=jamaicaplaingazette.com|date=8 July 2016|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref> The firm made its first foray outside Boston in 1994 with an office in Washington, D.C., followed by one in New York in 1997. The acquisition of 27 lawyers from a northern New Jersey firm and 13 litigators from a New York products liability shop bolstered the firm's IP and litigation practices in New York.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodwinlaw.com/-/media/files/our-firm/centennial_book.pdf|title=Goodwin Centennial Book|year=2012|website=Goodwin}}</ref>

In 1998, Regina Pisa became the first woman to be named chairman and Managing Partner of an [[The American Lawyer|AmLaw 100]] firm.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.americanlawyer.com/id=1202662690860/Goodwin-Procter-Names-New-Chairman?slreturn=20160627084255|title=Goodwin Procter Names New Chairman|website=The American Lawyer|access-date=2014-07-09}}</ref> Under Pisa's leadership, Goodwin grew from 300 lawyers primarily in Boston to more than 900 lawyers serving clients from eight locations in the United States, Europe and Asia. In 2004, the firm merged with the [[Washington, D.C.]]–based litigation and regulatory mid-sized firm [[Shea & Gardner]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2004/07/12/daily12.html|title=Goodwin Procter acquires Shea & Gardner|website=Washington Business Journal|access-date=2004-06-13}}</ref> The following year over 60 attorneys from [[Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault]] joined Goodwin Procter as Testa Hurwitz dissolved,<ref>Kimberly Blanton, [http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/02/06/how_goodwin_procter_won_many_of_testas_law_partners/ How Goodwin Procter won many of Testa's law partners], ''The Boston Globe'', February 6, 2005</ref> a move the ''[[Boston Globe]]'' called possibly "the biggest coup in Boston legal history."<ref>Kimberly Blanton, [http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/02/06/how_goodwin_procter_won_many_of_testas_law_partners/ How Goodwin Procter won many of Testa's law partners], ''The Boston Globe'', February 6, 2005</ref> Goodwin first established its West Coast presence in 2006, opening offices in [[Los Angeles]] and [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{Cite press release|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20060425005780/en/Goodwin-Procter-Establishes-West-Coast-Presence-Opens|title=Goodwin Procter Establishes West Coast Presence; Opens Offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco|website=BusinessWire|access-date=2006-04-25}}</ref> It  launched its [[Silicon Valley]] presence in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.goodwinlaw.com/news/2007/06/goodwin-procter-opens-office-in-palo-alto|title=Goodwin Procter Opens Office Palo Alto|website=Goodwin Procter LLP|access-date=2007-06-06}}</ref> The firm went global in 2008 with offices in London (Goodwin's first European location) and Hong Kong.

At its century mark in 2012, Goodwin had 850 lawyers and another 720 professional staff serving clients from offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. As part of its centennial celebrations, the firm started its Annual Days of Service tradition, during which employees in each office give back to their communities. In 2015, Goodwin announced the opening of an office in [[Frankfurt]], Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.americanlawyer.com/id=1202741771630?keywords=goodwin+procter+frankfurt&publication=TAL+2008&slreturn=20160626094310|title=With Frankfurt Launch, Goodwin Procter Enters Crowded German Market|website=The American Lawyer|language=en-US|access-date=2016-07-21}}</ref> In April 2016, Goodwin opened its third European office in [[Paris]], [[France]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.goodwinlaw.com/News/Press-Releases/2016/04_04_16-Driven-by-Global-Client-Demand-Goodwin-Procter-Extends-International.aspx|title=Driven By Global Client Demand, Goodwin Extends International Private Equity and M&A Platform into France|website=Goodwin|access-date=2016-07-21}}</ref> Later that year, the firm moved its Boston home to 100 Northern Avenue in the city's Seaport District after more than 100 years at the corner of State and Congress Streets. Two years later, Goodwin announced a significant expansion of its European Private Equity and Private Investment Funds practices with a group comprising the bulk of the market-leading and former [[SJ Berwin]] investment funds team.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.goodwinlaw.com/news/2017/1/01_11_17-goodwin-boosts-private-equity-and-funds|title=Goodwin Boosts Private Equity and Funds Platform with the Addition of a Significant Private Investment Funds Team in London|website=goodwinlaw.com|language=en|access-date=2017-04-10}}</ref> In 2019, Goodwin opened new offices in [[Santa Monica]], [[Luxembourg]] and [[Cambridge]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/therecorder/2019/03/08/goodwin-jumps-on-silicon-beach-bandwagon/|title=Goodwin Jumps on Silicon Beach Bandwagon|date=March 8, 2019|first=Xiumei|last=Dong|website=The Recorder|language=en|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2019/10/02/goodwin-becomes-second-us-firm-to-launch-in-luxembourg-405-45321/|title=Goodwin Becomes Second US Firm to Launch in Luxembourg|date=October 2, 2019|first=Dan|last=Packel|website=Law.com|language=en|access-date=2019-10-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/legal-week/2019/11/06/goodwin-opens-in-cambridge-to-break-into-tech-market/|title=Goodwin Opens in Cambridge to Break Into Tech Market|date=November 26, 2019|first=Rose|last=Walker|website=Law.com|language=en|access-date=2019-11-06}}</ref> In April 2022, Goodwin continued expanding its European operations by opening a second German office in Munich.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.goodwinlaw.com/news/2022/04/04_13-goodwins-momentum-in-europe-continues|title=Goodwin's Momentum In Europe Continues With Opening Of Munich Office|website=goodwinlaw.com|language=en|access-date=2022-09-14}}</ref> Goodwin's Singapore office, opened in October 2022, marked the firm's second location in Asia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodwinlaw.com/news/2022/10/10_04-goodwin-launches-in-singapore|title=Goodwin Launches In Singapore To Continue Focus On Private Equity, Technology and M&A|website=goodwinlaw.com|language=en|access-date=2022-10-06}}</ref>

==Clients==

* Japan's [[Kyowa Kirin]] acquired Orchard Therapeutics for $477.6 million. Goodwin advised the British biopharmaceutical company in the deal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legalbusinessonline.com/deals/goodwin-mofo-slaughters-guide-478-mln-bio-pharma-acquisition|title=Goodwin, Mofo, Slaughters guide $478 mln bio-pharma acquisition|date=November 2023 }}</ref>
* The firm advised [[OpenAI]] on its fundraising efforts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/openais-threatened-departures-would-upend-legal-team-rebuild|title=OpenAI's Threatened Exodus Would Upend Legal Team Operation|publisher=Bloomberg Law}}</ref>
* In 2025, Goodwin Procter represented the town of [[Milton, Massachusetts]] when the town was sued by the state of Massachusetts for refusing to comply with Massachusetts state law to allow multi-family housing near public transit stations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morse |first=Hannah |year=2025 |title=Massachusetts highest court has ruled in favor of multifamily housing law. What was said |url=https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2025/01/08/milton-massachusetts-multifamily-housing-law-supreme-judical-court-ag-andrea-campbell/77518781007/ |website=The Patriot Ledger |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Rankings==

Goodwin currently ranks 17th on the ''American Lawyer’s'' annual ranking of U.S. law firms by gross revenue,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2022/04/26/the-2022-am-law-100-ranked-by-gross-revenue/|title=The 2022 Am Law 100: Gross Revenue|website=The American Lawyer|language=en|access-date=2022-09-16}}</ref> and its lawyers and practice groups are consistently recognized by ''Chambers'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://chambers.com/law-firm/goodwin-global-2:3620|title=Goodwin|website=Chambers and Partners|access-date=2022-09-16}}</ref> ''U.S. News & World Report''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/profile/goodwin/rankings/16996 |title=Goodwin |website=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=2022-09-16}}</ref> and ''Legal 500''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legal500.com/firms/50382-goodwin/51543-boston-usa/|title=Goodwin|website=The Legal 500|access-date=2022-09-16}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of largest United States-based law firms by profits per partner]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Law firms based in Boston]]
[[Category:Intellectual property law firms]]
[[Category:Biopharmaceutical law firms]]
[[Category:Law firms established in 1912]]
[[Category:1912 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Multinational law firms]]