Overview
December 10, 2024 – International law firm McDermott Will & Emery has been recognized as the Most Innovative Law Firm as part of the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards North America 2024. The Firm received the highest honor of the awards program, securing the top ranking based on a cumulative score derived from nominations and survey responses. These assessments evaluated innovation in legal practice, technology utilization, people policies, social responsibility, and financial growth.
Highlighted within the 2024 Innovative Lawyers report, “[McDermott] is making significant investments in its push to explore how generative AI is affecting how the law is practiced. McDermott has a long record of doing things differently. It was one of the first US law firms to organize itself to align with industry sectors rather than around legal practice areas. The result was its current dominant position in healthcare. With revenues just shy of $2bn in 2023, according to The American Lawyer, McDermott is one of the fastest growing law firms in the US.”
McDermott was recognized in multiple categories:
- Standout | Practice of Law: Pro Bono – Children’s Rights, along with pro bono partners McDermott Will & Emery and Bass, Berry & Sims PLC, successfully settled a lawsuit requiring the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services to support immigrant children in foster care by addressing their immigration-related needs. Read more.
- Highly Commended | Practice of Law: Energy Transition – An interdisciplinary McDermott team, led by Michael Halsband and Michael Byrne, represented Oka, The Carbon Insurance Company™, in all aspects of its launch of a Lloyd’s syndicate-in-a-box and a US-based managing general agent to offer and administer a first-of-its-kind carbon credit insurance policy. Read more.
- Commended | Practice of Law: Healthcare & Life Sciences – A McDermott team, led by John Callahan, represented Geisinger Health in its sale to Risant Health. This historic transaction required more than 400 federal and state regulatory approvals and involved an AI-assisted review of 30,000 contracts in three weeks – McDermott’s largest and fastest AI review to date. Read more.
- Commended | Business of Law: Data – McDermott’s knowledge management team launched a “What’s Market” study, analyzing over 100 legal data points from private equity health transactions. Using eBrevia AI models, the study encompasses information from more than 780 McDermott-negotiated deals closed between 2020 and Q2 2024. Read more.
- Top 10 | Innovative Practitioner – As the Head of Strategy for McDermott’s healthcare practice and Co-Head of the digital health practice, Lisa Mazur helps her clients pursue innovative digital health solutions with an eye toward proactive, practical compliance and creative legal solutions. Read more.
View the 2024 report here.
About McDermott
McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers, and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,400 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.
