October 3, 2006, CHICAGO — International law firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP is pleased to announce the creation of an Office of the Chairman to replace Chairman Ty Fahner when he steps down in Spring 2007. The Office of the Chairman includes:
James D. Holzhauer, Chicago and New York, Chairman
Kenneth S. Geller, Washington, D.C., Vice Chairman
Paul Maher, London, Vice Chairman
The members of the new leadership team were selected by the firm’s Policy & Planning Committee and will each have principal, though not exclusive, responsibility for certain areas. The firm believes that the new leadership structure and the three distinguished partners chosen from diverse geographic and practice areas that comprise it, position the firm to build on its unparalleled international platform, to grow its business and to maintain its status as one of the world’s top-tier global law firms.
“Clients expect a firm to provide truly global capabilities, and Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw is committed to meeting the complex needs of our clients in today’s global business and regulatory environment,” said Mr. Fahner. “This new leadership structure reflects our commitment to ensuring that client needs are met – and that we have the strong blend of skills to take our firm forward.”
The new team will take office on June 1, 2007, allowing adequate time to ensure continuity with the firm’s existing leadership. Mr. Fahner will step down pursuant to the Partnership Agreement’s provisions requiring partners to relinquish leadership positions upon reaching age 64.
Mr. Fahner became a member of the Policy & Planning Committee in 1985 and Chairman in 1998. During Mr. Fahner’s tenure as Chairman, the firm has grown from approximately 800 attorneys to nearly 1,400 worldwide. His time leading the firm included the 2002 merger of Mayer, Brown & Platt with Rowe & Maw in London, which has been hailed as one of the most successful trans-Atlantic mergers to date. This merger followed Mayer, Brown & Platt’s combination with Blanchfield, Cordle & Moore in Charlotte in 1998, and mergers in 2001 with Lambert & Lee in Paris and the Frankfurt partners of the Gaedertz firm in Germany. Since that time, the firm has strengthened its position in key U.S. and European markets. It is anticipated that the firm will exceed US$1 billion in revenue this year.
In a recent survey by Corporate Counsel of the General Counsels of the Fortune 250 companies Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw was the only firm ranked among the top three in both areas of Litigation and Corporate Transactions. Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw was one of six firms that remained in the top 10 ranking in both 2002 (when the survey was introduced) and in 2006.
“Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw has expanded its capability and resources in delivering a full range of services across practices and borders,” said Mr. Holzhauer. “Ken, Paul and I look forward to working together to further the vision of global integration and growth to meet our clients’ evolving needs.”
Office of the Chairman – Roles and Responsibilities
James D. Holzhauer, 58, is an appellate litigator well known for his work in the U.S. Supreme Court, his labor and employment work, as well as lawyers’ professional liability work. In his early career he served as Law Clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger of the Supreme Court of the United States. He joined the firm in 1988 from the faculty of the University of Chicago Law School. He has served on the firm’s Policy & Planning Committee since 1998, and is the firm’s General Counsel. Jim retains principal responsibility for risk management, will lead global integration efforts, and will be primarily responsible for driving key operational and strategic initiatives adopted by the Policy & Planning Committee.
Kenneth S. Geller, 59, is an appellate litigator known for his work in the U.S. Supreme Court. He has been a member of the Policy & Planning Committee and the partner-in-charge of the firm’s Washington office since 1995. Prior to joining Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw in 1986, Ken served as Deputy Solicitor General in the United States Department of Justice and as an Assistant Special Prosecutor in the Watergate Special Prosecution Force. Ken has argued more than 40 cases in the Supreme Court and is co-author of Supreme Court Practice, the definitive treatise on practice before the Court. Chambers USA recently recognized him as “extremely experienced and seasoned, with superb judgment.” He will have principal responsibility for global operations.
Paul Maher, 47, is acknowledged as one of the architects of the combination that created Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP in 2002. He has been the Senior Partner in London since 2003 and has served on the firm’s Policy & Planning Committee since its combination. He has been the head of the London office corporate group since 1996 and is recognized as a highly commercial, tenacious and dynamic transactional lawyer and a leader in his field. He was recently ranked as one of the three most innovative lawyers in the UK in a recent Financial Times poll. Paul will take the lead on global strategy.
Each Office of the Chairman member will divide much of their time among the various offices, and each will maintain offices in New York, Chicago, and London.
“Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw is moving into a new phase and it makes sense to align primary responsibilities with individual leader’s strengths,” commented Mr. Fahner. “When a firm is as ambitious and geographically diverse as ours, it needs to have strong leadership. With these three truly motivated partners working with our Policy & Planning Committee, and all the partners and staff of the firm, we are strongly positioned to be highly competitive and successful moving forward.”
Founded in 1881, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw is among the largest law firms in the world with more than 1,400 lawyers practicing in seven U.S. cities (Chicago, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto and Washington) and six European cities (Berlin, Brussels, Cologne, Frankfurt, London and Paris). For more information on the firm, please visit www.mayerbrownrowe.com.
