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Revision as of 03:32, 7 February 2007
Jenner & Block is a U.S. law firm with offices in Chicago, Dallas, New York, and Washington, DC. Over 400 attorneys serve a wide range of clients in corporate litigation, business transactions, and in the public sector. Jerold S. Solovy is the longtime Chair of the firm; Gregory Gallopoulous is the Managing Partner. Thomas J. Perrelli is the managing partner for the Washington, DC office.
Founded in 1914, their early successes included defending Preston Tucker's company against corporate financing charges. After Albert E. Jenner became a partner in 1965, he helped the firm cement its reputation as a pro bono powerhouse (according to the editors of The American Lawyer in 2003) and established Jenner & Block's longstanding relationship representing General Dynamics. Among some of the distinguished lawyers who have practiced at Jenner & Block is Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, and two former U.S. Attorneys for the Northern District of Illinois, Thomas P. Sullivan and Anton Valukas.
MCI v. AT&T
Jenner & Block rose to prominence as a litigation firm during its long, historic antitrust fight with AT&T in the 1970s. Jenner & Block received the assignment from its former partner, John R. Worthington, who served as the General Counsel of Microwave Communications, Inc., the company that later became MCI Communications. Jenner & Block filed a lawsuit against AT&T in March of 1974 alleging that AT&T had monopolized the market for telecommunications services in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The case came to trial in 1980 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois based in Chicago. AT&T was represented by its outside law firm, Sidley & Austin, now Sidley Austin. After several months of trial, on June 13, 1980, a federal jury returned a verdict in favor of MCI in the amount of $600 million. After trebling the judgment as required by the antitrust laws, the $1.8 billion judgment was the largest monetary award in the history of American law. While the judgment was eventually thrown out on appeal and the case was settled for much less, it was the beginnings of the break-up of the AT&T monopoly; it established MCI as AT&T's primary competitor in the long distance telephone market; and it thrust Jenner & Block into its role as AT&T's nemesis.
Supreme Court Practice
Jenner & Block was one of the first national law firms to establish a Washington D.C. practice specifically focused on appeals before the Supreme Court. It was once headed by Bruce Ennis, Jr., now deceased, and is currently led by Paul M. Smith and Donald B. Verrilli, Jr.. Like Smith and Verrilli, a number of lawyers in the Washington D.C. office are former clerks to the Supreme Court. Among the prominent cases argued by Jenner & Block lawyers before the Supreme Court are--
- Morrison v. Olson (independent counsel law)
- AT&T v. Iowa Utilities Board (landmark telecommunications law case),
- FCC v. Nextwave (multi billion dollar appeal of bankruptcy ruling),
- Reno v. ACLU (indecency on the Internet),
- Turner Broadcasting System v. FCC (constitutionality of Cable Act)
- Wiggins v. Maryland (death penalty case),
- Lawrence v. Texas (constitutionality of law criminalizing homosexuality),
- MGM Studios v. Grokster (landmark case on copyright laws in cyberspace).
Clients
Jenner & Block has represented currently or in the past the following clients:
- American Psychological Association
- Dell
- Dow Chemical
- Exelon
- General Dynamics
- General Electric
- General Motors
- Honeywell
- MCI Communications
- Playboy
- Recording Industry Association of America in the Grokster case
- Sara Lee
Prominent Lawyers and Alumni
- Bruce Ennis, Jr., former National Legal Director, ACLU
- Nicholas Chabraja, CEO of General Dynamics
- Heather K. Gerken, Professor, Yale Law School
- William J. Haynes, II, former General Counsel, Department of Defense
- Ann Kappler, former General Counsel of Fannie Mae
- Albert Jenner, name partner
- Jennifer Martinez, Professor, Stanford Law School
- Robert S. Osborne, General Counsel of General Motors
- Thomas J. Perrelli, current partner
- Paul M. Smith, current partner
- Jerold S. Solovy, current firm Chairman
- John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
- Thomas P. Sullivan, former U.S. Attorney
- Anton Valukas, former U.S. Attorney
- Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., current partner
- John R. Worthington, longtime General Counsel of MCI Communications
Recognition
Jenner & Block has been recognized as an "A List" firm by the American Lawyer. Jenner & Block has a long history of providing pro bono legal services and was awarded the Pro Bono Publico Award from the American Bar Association in 1995.
External links
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