Blank Rome

Blank Rome

Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
No. of offices	14 (13 in the U.S., 1 in China)
No. of attorneys	700+
Major practice areas	Multi-practice law and government affairs
Key people	Grant S. Palmer, Chair and Managing Partner; Alan J. Hoffman, Chair Emeritus
Date founded	1946
Company type	Limited liability partnership
Website	Official website

Blank Rome (formerly known as Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley) is an Am Law 100 firm (ranked 81st in the 2019 AmLaw 100 Survey) with 14 offices and more than 700 attorneys and principals who provide legal and advocacy services to clients in the United States and around the world.

Founded in 1946, Blank Rome represents a broad range of clients across a spectrum of industries. The firm has 13 offices in the United States, and expanded internationally in May 2011 by opening a Shanghai Representative Office in the People's Republic of China. In 2003, the firm established Blank Rome Government Relations LLC in Washington, D.C., a wholly owned subsidiary and government affairs firm that provides strategic lobbying, advocacy, and communications counsel.

History

Blank Rome was founded in 1946 in Philadelphia, PA, and has since expanded its geographic footprint across the United States with offices in Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, FL; Houston, TX; Los Angeles and Orange County, CA; New York City; Pittsburgh, PA; Princeton, NJ; Washington, D.C.; and Wilmington, DE, as well as internationally with a Representative Office in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China. The following combinations and additions have occurred:

• 1959: Brumbelow & Comisky, Philadelphia
• 1961: Newman & Master, Philadelphia
• 1984: Wexler Weisman Forman & Shapiro, Philadelphia
• 1998: Wigman, Cohen, Leitner & Myers, Washington, D.C.
• 2000: Tenzer Greenblatt, New York
• 2003: Dyer Ellis & Joseph, Washington, D.C.
• 2005: Shack Siegel Katz & Flaherty, New York
• 2006: Healy & Baillie, New York
• 2011: Abrams Scott & Bickley, LLP, Houston
• 2012: Janis, Schuelke & Wechsler, Washington, D.C.
• 2013: Bell, Ryniker & Letourneau, Houston
• 2014: Finestone & Richter and Margolis & Tisman LLP, Los Angeles and San Francisco
• 2015: Wong Cabello, Houston
• 2016: Dickstein Shapiro LLP, Washington, D.C.; Phillips Lerner, Los Angeles
• 2017: Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, Los Angeles
• 2019: Buter, Buzard, Fishbein & Royce LLP, Los Angeles; four-partner group from Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, Chicago

Additionally, in 2003, the Firm established Blank Rome Government Relations LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary and government affairs firm in Washington, D.C.

Practice areas

Blank Rome's practice areas include commercial and corporate litigation; consumer finance; corporate, M&A, and securities; energy, environment, and mass torts; finance, restructuring, and bankruptcy; government contracts; government relations and political law; insurance recovery; intellectual property and technology; labor and employment; maritime and international trade; matrimonial and family law; real estate; tax, benefits, and private client; and white collar defense and investigations.

Key industry areas include aviation, chemical, consumer financial services, energy, financial services, gaming and entertainment, healthcare, life sciences, maritime, private equity and investment funds, real estate, and technology.

Blank Rome Government Relations LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary and government affairs firm. Key services include advocacy, coalition building and management, congressional oversight and policy implementation, government business, and legislation and regulation.

Notable lawyers and alumni

• Edward Cahn, former chief United States district judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, serves as of counsel in Blank Rome's Philadelphia office.
• Steve Castor
• Marvin Comisky, former chairman emeritus of Blank Rome and former head of the Philadelphia and state bar associations
• Geraldine Ferraro, former congresswoman and Vice-Presidential candidate, previously served as a principal at Blank Rome Government Relations LLC.
• James Giles, former chief judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, serves as of counsel in Blank Rome's Philadelphia office.
• David F. Girard-diCarlo, former chairman of the South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, elected co-chair and managing partner in 1988, reelected five times, serving until 2000; also appointed as the CEO of subsidiary Blank Rome Government Relations LLC, the lobbying branch of the law firm based in Washington, D.C.; served as the U.S. ambassador to Austria from July 2008 to January 2009.
• Keith Gottfried, former general counsel to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and a senior official in the administration of President George W. Bush, was a partner in Blank Rome's Washington, D.C., office.
• Nathaniel R. Jones, former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and former general counsel to the NAACP, previously served as the Firm's inaugural Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.
• Frederica Massiah-Jackson, Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas judge, worked at the law firm before her election to the bench in 1983.
• David A. Norcross, former chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee and executive assistant to New Jersey Governor William T. Cahill, was a partner in Blank Rome's Philadelphia office.
• Stephen Orlofsky, former judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, is the chair of Blank Rome's Princeton office and leads the Firm's appellate practice.
• Gil Stein, former president and general counsel to the National Hockey League, worked at the law firm before becoming an executive with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1976.

External links

• Blank Rome's firm profile from Chambers & Partners