Greenberg Traurig
{{short description|U.S.-based law firm}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox law firm
| name = Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Greenberg Traurig, PA
(doing business as Greenberg Traurig)
| logo = Greenberg Traurig logo.svg
| num_offices = 49
| num_attorneys = Approximately 2850 (as of 2025)
| num_employees =
| practice_areas =
- Business reorganization and bankruptcy
- Litigation
- Securities Arbitration
- Products Liability & Mass Torts
- Corporate and Securities
- Intellectual Property and Information Technology
- Data, Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Entertainment
- Real Estate
- Tax, Trusts and Estates
- Global Trade
- Governmental Affairs
- Public Finance
- Environmental and Land Development
- Gaming
| key_people = * Brian Duffy, chief executive officer
- Richard A. Rosenbaum, executive chairman
- Brad D. Kaufman, co-president
- Ernest LaMont Greer, co-president
| revenue = $2.6+ Billion USD (2024)
| date_founded = 1967
| founder = Mel Greenberg, Larry J. Hoffman, and Robert H. Traurig
| homepage = {{URL|http://www.gtlaw.com}}
| dissolved =
}}
Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law and lobbying firm{{cite news|url=https://nysfocus.com/2023/06/08/chemical-industry-steps-up-lobbying-as-new-york-weighs-major-waste-bill|title=Chemical Industry Steps Up Lobbying as New York Weighs Major Waste Bill|date=8 June 2023|work=NYS Focus|last=Kinniburgh|first=Colin}} founded in Miami in 1967 by Mel Greenberg, Larry J. Hoffman, and Robert H. Traurig.
As of 2025, it is the eighth-largest law firm in the United States.{{Cite web |title=Greenberg Traurig |url=https://www.law.com/law-firm-profile/?id=126&name=Greenberg-Traurig |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=Law.com}} The firm has 49 locations in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Latin America,{{cite web |date=March 20, 2025 |title=Greenberg Traurig Locations |url=https://www.gtlaw.com/en/locations |access-date=March 20, 2025 |website=GTlaw.com}} and Asia,{{cite web|title=Locations|url=http://www.gtlaw.com/Locations/View-All|website=Greenberg Traurig|access-date=20 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220110735/http://www.gtlaw.com/Locations/View-All|archive-date=February 20, 2015|url-status=dead}} and approximately 2,850 attorneys worldwide as of 2025.{{Cite news|last=Chen|first=Te-Ping|date=2021-08-06|title=Covid-19 Threatens to Blow Up Law Firms' Intense Office Culture—for Good|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-law-firm-work-from-home-11628254526|access-date=2021-09-21|issn=0099-9660}} Its 2024 revenue was over $2.6 billion.{{Cite news |last=Lugo |first=Alexander |date=March 6, 2025 |title=Greenberg Traurig Posts Double-Digit Revenue Gains, Firm's Largest Since Record 2021 |url=https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2025/03/06/greenberg-traurig-posts-double-digit-revenue-gains-firms-largest-since-record-2021/?slreturn=20250320104022 |access-date=March 20, 2025 |work=Law.com {{!}} Daily Business Review}}
Its largest office is in New York City,{{cite web|title=Leaders|url=http://www.leadersmag.com/issues/2016.4_Oct/PDFs/LEADERS-Richard-Rosenbaum-Greenberg-Traurig.pdf}} and clients have included Diane Von Furstenberg Studios, Conde Nast Publications, The New Yorker, New Yorker staff, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and the plastics industry.
History
=20th century=
File:Greenberg Traurig headquarters.jpg]]
In the 1970s, Greenberg, Traurig and Hoffman became Greenberg, Traurig, Hoffman, Lipoff, and Quentel with the addition of attorneys Norman H. Lipoff and Albert D. Quentel as named shareholders. The late Florida governor Reubin Askew was a named shareholder in the early 1980s while he also sought the Democratic nomination for president.{{cite web|url=http://thefloridachannel.org/videos/31914-memorial-service-former-florida-governor-reubin-askew/|title=3/19/14 Memorial Service for Former Florida Governor Reubin Askew - The Florida Channel}}
Larry Hoffman became managing partner of the firm in 1991, at which point the firm began to expand nationwide, beginning with the opening of an office in New York City.{{cite web|url=http://www.law.miami.edu/news/527b.html|title=Greenberg Traurig Endows the Larry J. Hoffman Greenberg Traurig Distinguished Professorship|access-date=January 2, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216200844/http://www.law.miami.edu/news/527b.html|archive-date=February 16, 2007|url-status=dead}} In 1999, the firm expanded further, opening offices in Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and Wilmington, Delaware.
In 1999, the firm established the Greenberg Traurig Holly Skolnick Fellowship Foundation was established, which supports Equal Justice Works public interest lawyers.{{cite web|url=http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/communities/sponsors|title="Equal Justice Works"}} Previously named the Greenberg Traurig Fellowship Foundation, the program was renamed in 2013 in honor of the late Holly Skolnick, a Greenberg Traurig shareholder who helped establish the foundation and served as its president.{{cite news|url=http://www.gtlaw.com/News-Events/Newsroom/Press-Releases/174403/Greenberg-Traurig-Announces-New-2014-Public-Interest-Fellows|title=Greenberg Traurig Announces New 2014 Public Interest Fellows|work=Greenberg Traurig|date=February 19, 2014|access-date=2014-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328010911/http://www.gtlaw.com/News-Events/Newsroom/Press-Releases/174403/Greenberg-Traurig-Announces-New-2014-Public-Interest-Fellows|archive-date=March 28, 2014|url-status=dead}}
=21st century=
In 2000, the firm doubled the size of its New York City office by acquiring the local office of Graham & James.
In July 2009, Greenberg Traurig opened an office in London under the name of Greenberg Traurig Maher LLP, since renamed to Greenberg Traurig, LLP. The London office is currently located in The Shard skyscraper.{{cite web |title=GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/OC346053 |website=Companies House |publisher=Companies House |access-date=23 February 2019}}
According to OpenSecrets, Greenberg Traurig was one of the top law firms contributing to federal candidates during the 2012 election cycle, donating $1.49 million, 50.2% to Democrats.{{cite web|title=Lawyers & Lobbyists: Top Contributors to Federal Candidates, Parties, and Outside Groups|url=http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.php?ind=K&Bkdn=DemRep&cycle=2012|website=OpenSecrets.org|publisher=OpenSecrets}} By comparison, during that same period Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld donated $2.56 million, 66% to Democrats, while oil conglomerate ExxonMobil donated $2.66 million, 88% to Republicans.{{cite web|title=Energy/Natural Resources: Top Contributors to Federal Candidates, Parties, and Outside Groups|url=http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.php?ind=E&Bkdn=DemRep&cycle=2012|website=OpenSecrets |access-date=9 June 2016}} Since 1990, Greenberg Traurig contributed $11.2 million to federal campaigns.{{cite web|title=Organizations: Greenberg Traurig|url=http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000344&cycle=A|website=OpenSecrets |access-date=9 June 2016}}
Between 2011 and 2013, Greenberg Traurig participated in the American Bar Association's National Pro Bono Week.{{cite web|url=http://www.probono.net/celebrateprobono/supporters/|title=Celebration Supporters|publisher=National Pro Bono Week|access-date=March 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328013052/http://www.probono.net/celebrateprobono/supporters/|archive-date=March 28, 2014|url-status=dead}}
In 2013, the firm launched a residency program to hire associates who are not recruited in traditional on-campus interviews by allowing them to spend up to a third of their billable hours in training for a one-year trial period.{{cite news|url=http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/residency_program_associates_at_this_biglaw_firm_will_get_more_training_and/|title='Residency program' associates at this BigLaw firm will get more training and less pay|work=ABA Journal|date=October 22, 2013|access-date=2014-03-27}}{{cite news|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-11-19/business/fl-greenberg-traurig-new-lawyer-program-20131117_1_law-firm-law-school-greenberg-traurig|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131123071341/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-11-19/business/fl-greenberg-traurig-new-lawyer-program-20131117_1_law-firm-law-school-greenberg-traurig|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 23, 2013|title=Law school grads trade top pay for job experience|work=Sun Sentinel|date=November 19, 2013|access-date=2014-03-27}}{{cite news|url=http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202644115114|title=A Firm Leader's Guide to Survival of the Biggest |work=The National Law Journal|date=February 24, 2014|access-date=2014-03-27}}
In 2016, Brian Duffy became CEO.{{Cite web|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article28020823.html|title=Duffy named CEO of Greenberg Traurig lawfirm|website=miamiherald|language=en|access-date=2019-01-31}} In July 2018, founding member Robert H. Traurig died at age 93 in Miami.{{Cite web|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/obituaries/article215022425.html|title=Robert Traurig, who helped build one of the world's largest law firms, dies at 93|website=miamiherald|language=en|access-date=2019-02-01}}
In 2020, Greenberg Traurig became the first law firm certified to be net carbon neutral by the Center for Resource Solutions.{{cite web |last1=Jain |first1=Diksha |title=Greenberg Traurig Appoints New Global Co-Head of Energy Project Finance {{!}} JDJournal |url=https://www.jdjournal.com/2021/06/03/greenberg-traurig-appoints-new-global-co-head-of-energy-project-finance/ |website=www.jdjournal.com |date=June 3, 2021 |access-date=18 November 2021}} In October 2022, they were named a Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certified Plus firm, which requires at least 30% of leadership roles and 30% of staffed lawyers come from historically underrepresented groups.{{cite web |title=Mansfield 5.0 Certified Firms |url=https://www.diversitylab.com/pilot-projects/mansfield-rule-5-0-certified-firms/ |website=Diversity Lab |access-date=3 November 2022}}
Controversies
=Abramoff lobbying scandals=
{{Further|Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal}}
In January 2001, lobbyist Jack Abramoff left Preston Gates & Ellis to join Greenberg Traurig. At the firm, Abramoff assembled "Team Abramoff", a lobbying team that was implicated in the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal and the monetary influence of Jack Abramoff.
=Chicago patronage=
In 2001, Victor Reyes, who headed the Hispanic Democratic Organization, joined Greenberg Traurig to lead the firm's Chicago lobbying practice. After Reyes's arrival, from 2001 to 2005, Greenberg earned $3.5 million in city-related legal fees, including for representing the city in the United Airlines and RCN Cable TV bankruptcies. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald subsequently alleged that Reyes's law office was central to a patronage scheme to funnel city jobs to Richard M. Daley campaign workers. Reyes resigned from Greenberg in August 2005 and was not charged, but prosecutors labeled him as a "co-schemer" in the indictment.[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0509230340sep23,1,671408.story?ctrack=1&cset=true "Feds link close pal of Daley to hiring"], Chicago Tribune Greenberg CEO César Álvarez stated, "I don't know about anything [Reyes] did in the firm that was wrong. I can only know what I have seen, and I only know that he hasn't been charged".{{cite web|title=Routine Maintenance|url=http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1173101898582|work=law.com}}
=Philadelphia bankruptcy case=
In May 2005, Philadelphia partner Robert S. Grossman pleaded guilty to charges that he had lied in a 1996 bankruptcy case to cover up his improper diversion of over $100,000 to his personal account when he worked as a real estate developer in Virginia.
=Hamilton Bank=
In June 2006, Greenberg Traurig agreed to pay the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation $7.6 million for its role as a legal adviser to the now-defunct Hamilton Bank in Miami, to settle allegations that it had helped to cover up bank officers' financial misconduct. The firm paid an additional $750,000 fine to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for allegedly protecting the bank's officers "by making materially false and misleading assertions and by suppressing material evidence".
=Tax shelter kickbacks=
In November 2006, Jay I. Gordon, the former chairman of Greenberg Traurig's tax practice, resigned from the New York State Bar Association and was disbarred for taking over $1.2 million in kickbacks on tax shelters that he had recommended to wealthy clients of the firm.{{cite web|url=http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2006/2006_08075.htm|title=Matter of Gordon (2006 NY Slip Op 08075)|work=state.ny.us}}
=New York state real estate=
In November 2008, a New York state court refused to dismiss a suit alleging that Robert J. Ivanhoe, head of its real estate group, disregarded his "legal and fiduciary duties" by taking a personal financial stake in a competitor to a client that had invested in a multibillion-dollar real estate venture.[http://www.nylawyer.com/adgifs/decisions/112608lowe.pdf Nama Holdings, LLC v. Greenberg Traurig LLP], Index No. 601054/08 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cty. Nov. 18, 2008) The former client sued Ivanhoe and Greenberg Traurig in April 2008 for breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference with prospective economic damages, and malpractice. Greenberg Traurig responded that the allegations were "without merit" and that it would appeal the ruling.{{cite web|url=http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202426312411|title=Routine Maintenance|work=law.com}}
=Trademark infringement=
In December 2008, the firm and several current and former firm attorneys, including Harley Lewin and Steven Wadyka, were sued in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by Catherine and Richard Snyder of Herndon, Virginia. Greenberg Traurig's client, Diane Von Furstenberg Studios, and Conde Nast Publications, The New Yorker and New Yorker staff reporter, Larissa MacFarquhar, were also named in the suit. The Snyders' suit stemmed from a suit filed in the same court by Diane Von Furstenberg Studios against Catherine Snyder in December 2006 for trademark infringement, which resulted in an award of damages to DVF Studios.[http://www.courthousenews.com/2008/12/11/Couple_Sues_New_Yorker_&_Greenberg_Traurig.htm "Couple Sues New Yorker & Greenberg Traurig"], from Court House News Service
=Insider trading=
In 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) looked into insider trader allegations between United States House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health staff director Brian Sutter and Mark Hayes, a lobbyist at Greenberg Traurig. In November, 2015, New York U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe ordered the Committee and a former staffer to respond to an SEC subpoena request , but he did term the request "overbroad." The SEC sought to determine whether Sutter or anyone else from the Committee tipped off lobbyist Mark Hayes of Greenberg Traurig, which information was then forwarded to Height Securities LLC. Judge Gardephe reasoned that the congressional Speech and Debate Clause does not provide protection for information communicated by a legislative member or aide to a member of the public, and that Sutter's statements to employees of Greenberg are consequently not protected and must be produced.[https://www.law360.com/articles/727251/house-panel-can-t-nix-sec-subpoena-in-insider-trading-probe House panel can't mix SEC subpoena in insider-trading probe], Law 360, Cara Silvatore, November 16, 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2017.[http://www.sfmslaw.com/blog/2015/11/house-panel-intervenes-in-secs-insider-trading-investigation.shtml House Panel intervenes in SEC's Insider Trading Investigation], Shepherd, Finkleman, Miller & Shah, Casey Yamasaki, November 17, 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2017. After two years of litigation and its 2nd Circuit appeal of the subpoena in December 2015, the Committee finally dropped its opposition to the order requested by the SEC.[https://www.law360.com/articles/862175/house-sec-drop-health-care-subpoena-fight-at-2nd-circ- House, SEC Drop Health Care Subpoena Fight At 2nd Circuit], Law 360, Martin O'Sullivan, November 14, 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
=Rudy Giuliani=
In May 2018, the firm parted ways with Rudy Giuliani over his allegations that he would pay his clients' adversaries hush money in a manner consistent with the Stormy Daniels affair. Giuliani suggested that such payments were common, even without the knowledge of the clients.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-resigns-law-firm-greenberg-traurig.html|title=Giuliani's Law Firm Undercuts His Statements as They Part Ways|last1=Schmidt|first1=Michael S.|date=2018-05-10|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-10-04|last2=Haberman|first2=Maggie|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}
= Frank Butselaar =
In February 2025, a tax lawyer and one-time partner of the firm, Frank Butselaar, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for helping wealthy clients conceal tens of millions of dollars from the IRS.{{Cite news |last=Scarcella |first=Mike |date=2025-02-14 |title=Judge sentences ex-Greenberg Traurig tax lawyer to prison |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/judge-sentences-ex-greenberg-traurig-tax-lawyer-prison-2025-02-14/ |access-date=2025-07-05 |work=Reuters |language=en}}
Finances
Awards and rankings
It is the ninth largest law firm in the United States by headcount and ranks in the top 20 of the Am Law 100 by gross revenue, in the top 10 of the NLJ 500, and in the top 25 of the Global 200.{{cite web |url=https://www.law.com/law-firm-profile/?id=126&name=Greenberg-Traurig|title = Greenberg Traurig}}
{{cite web |url=https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2018/09/24/the-2018-global-100-ranked-by-revenue/|title=The 2018 Global 100 Ranked by Revenue}} Greenberg Traurig is among the 23 firms most recommended by general counsels in 2025, according to BTI Consulting Group. The firm earned top marks on the survey for trust and relationship management.{{Cite web |title=Greenberg Traurig Named BTI ‘Best of the Best Recommended Law Firms’ {{!}} News {{!}} Greenberg Traurig LLP |url=https://www.gtlaw.com/en/news/2025/04/press-releases/greenberg-traurig-named-bti-best-of-the-best-recommended-law-firms |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=www.gtlaw.com |language=en}}
class="wikitable"
|+Law Firm Rankings{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/law-firm-profile/?id=126&name=Greenberg-Traurig|title=Greenberg Traurig|website=Law.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-17}} !Year !AM Law 100 Rank !Global 200 Rank !NLJ 500 Rank |
2021
|16 |21 |9 |
2020
|14 |19 |9 |
2019
|14 |19 |10 |
2018
|14 |19 |N/A |
2017
|14 |19 |N/A |
2016
|14 |20 |N/A |
2010
|15 |20 |N/A |
External links
- [https://www.gtlaw.com/en Official website]
- [http://www.natlawreview.com/organization/greenberg-traurig-llp Greenberg Traurig] at The National Law Review
- [https://www.reuters.com/law-firm/greenberg-traurig/ Greenberg Traurig] at Reuters
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenberg Traurig Llp And Greenberg Traurig Pa}}
Category:1967 establishments in Florida
Category:American companies established in 1967
Category:Foreign law firms with offices in the Netherlands
Category:International law organizations
Category:Law firms based in Miami
Category:Law firms established in 1967