The firm now known as Jenner & Block was founded in 1914 as Newman, Poppenhusen & Stern by a trio of lawyers with big-name Chicago firm pedigrees. In its early years, the firm advised the city's banks, mortgage houses and blue-collar corporations. Once the 1920s roared around, however, Jenner & Block took on a decidedly more high-profile identity as litigator Edward Johnston developed into one of the nation's foremost antitrust attorneys. With a victory in the landmark 1925 U.S. Supreme Court case of Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association v. United States, in which he dismantled the Justice Department's argument that the exchange of information by trade association members constituted a violation of antitrust law, Johnston cemented the firm's reputation in that practice area.

Johnston proved to be the first of a string of legal stars who propelled the firm through the heart of the 20th century. Judge Floyd Thompson, a former Illinois Supreme Court chief justice, brought big-name clients to the firm, just as the Great Depression's onset forced the firm to shift its focus from transactions and litigation to such countercyclical practices as restructuring. Later, firm partner Albert Jenner ascended to the nameplate, securing his legacy thanks in large part to an enduring friendship with enterprising industrialist Henry Crown. Jenner, an antitrust and securities specialist at heart, later drew attention for his dogged criticism of the House Committee on Un-American Activities; the firm challenged the body's actions after it persecuted a client in a case that ultimately led to the committee's dissolution. Jenner was also the controversial minority counsel to the House Judiciary Committee investigating whether to impeach President Nixon over Watergate. When the Republicans ousted him for his apparently pro-impeachment stance, the Democrats named him assistant majority counsel.

Moving Ahead

Fast-forward to the present. Jenner & Block now numbers 550 lawyers in offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC. The client roster is a blend of old-timey corporate institutions-including General Dynamics, General Electric, and General Motors-and trendy players in the worlds of business, the arts and entertainment, and technology.

With more than 400 litigators and dispute lawyers, the firm boasts one of the country's leading litigation and arbitration practices. Jenner is home to 12 fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a former associate attorney general and former acting solicitor general of the United States, two former US attorneys, 11 former AUSAs, and a former Illinois Supreme Court chief justice. The firm has made a name for itself handling high-profile investigations, including representing its then-chairman, Anton Valukas, in his role as court-appointed examiner in the Lehman Bros. bankruptcy and, more recently, conducting an investigation and producing an internal report to the General Motors board of directors related to events leading up to its faulty ignition switch recalls.

Jenner's corporate department has made a string of hires over the past few years, growing to more than 100 lawyers. The practice is oriented around M&A, but covers an array of complex transactions and counseling for a wide range of clients, from large public companies to middle-market and emerging companies, to closely-held family businesses and private equity and other funds and investors.

Jenner & Block has also been recognized for its commitments to diversity and pro bono. The Women in Law Empowerment Forum awarded Jenner its 2016 "Gold Standard" certification and the firm has earned a perfect rating in the Human Rights Campaign's "Corporate Equality Index" survey for 12 consecutive years for its policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality. Jenner encourages its associates to seek out pro bono matters from day one and does not limit the amount of pro bono work undertaken, which may be why The American Lawyer has ranked Jenner as the #1 US law firm for pro bono eight times since 1998 and one of the top 10 pro bono firms every year since 1990.

June 2017
Rooney Rule

The firm signed on to pilot a version of the "Rooney Rule" to boost diversity in leadership ranks. Following its participation in Diversity Lab's Hackathon, the firm joined 29 other law firms in a year-long pilot program designed to improve diversity in law firms and legal departments.

May 2017
Free At Last

Two pro bono clients were freed from prison. Convicted of arson in 1993 when he was 14 years old, Adam Gray was serving mandatory life in prison without parole. In post-conviction litigation, the firm presented advances in fire science showing there was no arson; the State agreed to dismiss all charges. Patrick Pursley was released on bond after more than 23 years in prison for murder, when the firm won him a new trial; evidence established that a gun recovered from his residence did not-contrary to evidence presented at his 1994 trial-five bullets found at the crime scene.

June 2016 - May 2017
Big Deals

Firm transactional lawyers represented clients in three significant transactions: Lonza Group in its $5.5 billion acquisition of Capsugel, a leading maker of capsules and other dosage forms used for delivery of drugs and food supplements; US Foods Holding Corp., the second-largest food distributor in the US, in its high-profile $1.175 billion IPO-at the time, the largest IPO for an operating company and second largest IPO overall for 2016; and Vivid Seats, a Chicago-based independent marketplace for tickets to live sports, concerts and theatre events in connection with a growth equity investment by Vista Equity Partners.

March - June 2017
A Clean Sweep

During the US Supreme Court's October 2016 Term, Partner Adam Unikowsky argued three cases in the Court in a one-month period between March 20 and April 18, 2017, and won all three, unanimously. During the Court's October 2015 term, Adam won two additional Supreme Court cases. Adam's five Supreme Court wins over the past two terms is among the highest of any attorney in the country.

February 2017
College CRISPR Conflict

A team of firm patent lawyers won a victory before the USPTAB in a highly watched case regarding who owns the patent for a groundbreaking gene-editing technology. CRISPR revolutionizes the field of gene editing by allowing scientists to remove and replace genes in an easier and more effective manner than previously thought possible. The PTAB agreed that the firm's client's-The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard-patents on the use of CRISPR to edit animal and human cells does not overlap with the patent applications of University of California-Berkeley and the University of Vienna.

August 2016
A-Listers

Jenner & Block was named to the 2016 American Lawyer A-List, recognizing the 20 top-performing AmLaw 200 firms across the United States based on financials, pro bono, diversity, and associate satisfaction/quality of life metrics. This marked the sixth time the firm has been on the A-List since it was created byAmLaw in 2003, as an effort to look beyond pure business performance and identify which of the legal profession's 200 largest law firms "set the standard for their peers" across a broader range of benchmarks."

Albert E. Jenner, Jr.


Albert Ernest Jenner, Jr. (June 20, 1907–September 18, 1988) was an American lawyer and one of the name partners at the law firm of Jenner & Block. He served as assistant counsel to the Warren Commission; as a member of the U.S. National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence; and as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate Scandal.

[edit] Background

Jenner was born in Chicago - his father was a police officer with the Chicago Police Department. Jenner attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (B.A. 1929). To help pay his way through college, Jenner earned extra money by competing as a professional boxer. He was also the circulation editor at the Daily Illini. It was while working on the Daily Illini that Jenner met his future wife, Nadine Newbill.

After college, he studied at the University of Illinois College of Law, receiving his LL.B. in 1930. Following law school, he served as the reporter for the Illinois Civil Practice Act. He joined the firm of Poppenheusen, Johnston, Thompson and Cole (the precursor of Jenner & Block) in 1933 and became a partner of the firm in 1939. Jenner thrived at the firm and, in 1947, at age 40, he became the president of the Illinois State Bar Association. He would later go on to serve as the eighth president of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

[edit] Years as prominent attorney

In his practice at Poppenheusen, Johnston, Thompson and Cole, Jenner would develop relationships with several prominent clients, most notably General Dynamics. Already by the 1940s, Jenner had become the top earner at the firm[citation needed]. In 1955, he was rewarded by becoming a name partner at the firm. (The firm eventually became known as "Jenner & Block" in 1964.) As a lawyer, Jenner was dedicated to pro bono work and, in the 1960s, he supported partner Prentice Marshall's efforts to found Jenner & Block's pro bono program, one of the first in the country.

In the early 1950s, President Harry S Truman appointed Jenner to the Civil Service Commission Loyalty Review Board, which had been established by Executive Order 9835 in 1947.

In 1960, the Supreme Court of the United States appointed Jenner to the Advisory Committee for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a post he would hold until 1970.

Following the John F. Kennedy assassination, Jenner was named as assistant counsel to the Warren Commission, in which capacity he was responsible for investigating the life of Lee Harvey Oswald for the Commission.

In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court named Jenner chairman of the Advisory Committee for the Federal Rules of Evidence - he would continue in this post until 1975.

In 1968, Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Jenner to the U.S. National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, which Johnson established in the wake of the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy to study the causes of violence in the U.S.

1968 also saw Jenner argue his first major case at the U.S. Supreme Court, Witherspoon v. Illinois. In the following years, he would argue Mills v. Electric Auto-Lite (1970); Reliance Electric Co. v. Emerson Electric Co. (1972); Gonzales v. Automatic Employees Credit Union (1974); and Serbian Eastern Orthodox Diocese for the United States of America and Canada v. Milivojevich (1976).

Jenner participated in the investigation into the 1969 bribery scandal at the Supreme Court of Illinois involving Chief Justice Roy Solfisburg and former Chief Justice Ray Klingbiel.

In 1973, the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee named Jenner as the Committee's Chief Minority Counsel. During this time, Jenner fought (successfully) against Senator Ted Kennedy's attempt to appoint a Boston Municipal Court judge whom Jenner thought was unqualified, as a federal judge. However, the most notable thing that happened while Jenner was at the House Judiciary Committee was the Committee's investigations into the Watergate allegations against Richard Nixon. Jenner was ultimately forced to resign as special counsel when he recommended the impeachment of Nixon, which is somewhat ironic since the Republicans on the Committee ultimately voted in favor of impeachment.

A longtime opponent of the House Un-American Activities Committee, Jenner played a role in its 1975 abolition after he filed a First Amendment challenge to HUAC in response to its investigation of Dr. Jeremiah Stamler, a prominent Chicago heart researcher.

In the course of his career, Jenner also served as: a director of General Dynamics; as a permanent member of the editorial board of the Uniform Commercial Code; and as the chairman of the of Judicial Selection Committee of the American Bar Association. He also served on the Board of Governors of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; as the president of the American Judicature Society; and as president of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

The University of Illinois College of Law bestowed an honorary doctorate on Jenner in 1981. In 1982, Jenner endowed a professorship at the University of Illinois College of Law. The University of Illinois College of Law's library is also named in his honor.

Jenner died in 1988. His funeral was held at Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago. Illinois Governor James R. Thompson delivered a eulogy at the funeral. In that eulogy, Gov. Thompson said
“ When the soul of our nation was torn by the assassination of a president, our nation reached out to Bert Jenner. And when the fabric of our Constitution was threatened by the actions of a president, our nation reached out to Bert Jenner. When the wounds were deep and grievous for all Americans, when some impoverished soul was threatened, when some unpopular cause would have been extinguished but for the bravery and perseverance of that man, they all reached out for Bert Jenner."

Albert E. Jenner, Jr. was born in Chicago on June 20, 1907. The son of a Chicago policeman, he grew up in Canaryville, the old Chicago stockyards neighborhood. Described as the boy wonder of law early in his profession, Jenner's legal career spanned five decades and included appointments to presidential, congressional and U.S. Supreme Court committees. He died on September 18, 1988, at age 81. He traced his interest in the law back to a rainy day when he was ten years old and found himself up in his attic. After inspecting a tattered copy of a text on the common law, the young Jenner knew that he was going to be a lawyer some day.

Jenner earned his undergraduate degree in 1929, and he then enrolled in the College of Law, where he earned a membership in the Order of the Coif, a high academic honor. Jenner received his law degree in 1930. He helped pay his way through college as a professional boxer, fighting six-round matches at $50 each. He was also circulation manager at the Daily Illini, later marrying Nadine Newbill, a reporter from the student newspaper. In 1933, he joined the firm of Poppenheusen, Johnston, Thompson and Cole, precursor to the firm of Jenner & Block. He was admitted to partnership in the firm in January of 1939.

From 1964 to 1975, Jenner was chairman of the U.S. Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence for the United States Courts; and from 1960 to 1970, he was a member of the High Court's Advisory Committee on Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for the United States District Courts.

Jenner was a member of the Presidential National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, which investigated causes of violence surrounding the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy. Jenner also served as senior counsel to the Warren Commission, which investigated the 1963 assassination of President John Kennedy. In 1951, President Truman appointed Jenner to serve on the National United States Loyalty Review Board, and, in 1963, he was Senior Counsel for the Presidential Commission to Investigate the Assassination of President Kennedy. In 1968, President Johnson appointed Jenner to serve on the National Commission of the Causes and Prevention of Violence in the United States.

In 1973 and 1974, Jenner was appointed by Republicans to be the Chief Minority Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, which was investigating whether former President Nixon should be impeached. He recommended that Nixon should be impeached. He also took pride in the fact that, after a lengthy and bitter battle, he blocked Senator Edward Kennedy's nomination of an obscure Boston Municipal Court judge for a federal judgeship.

Bert Jenner served as a director of General Dynamics Corporation, and was a member and past co-chairman of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. He was the author of numerous legal publications in the fields of trial practice, evidence, pleading and procedure.

Illinois Governor James Thompson spoke for many when he stated, at the memorial service conducted in Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago, for Albert E. Jenner, Jr.: when "the soul of our nation was torn by the assassination of a president, our nation reached out to Bert Jenner. And when the fabric of our Constitution was threatened by the actions of a president, our nation reached out to Bert Jenner. When the wounds were deep and grievous for all Americans, when some impoverished soul was threatened, when some unpopular cause would have been extinguished but for the bravery and perseverance of that man, they all reached out for Bert Jenner."

By the early 1940's, Jenner had earned a reputation as an outstanding litigator, a reputation he maintained until his death. In an interview with the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, Chief Judge William Bauer of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, described his good friend as "one of the greatest lawyers I ever met. He tried cases in front of me; and boy, he was great. He was superbly prepared. He was always respectful but never deferential. He always knew what he was doing. He looked about 9-feet tall. He conducted himself as absolutely civil to an opponent, but he never gave anything away. He conducted a hard fight but a fair fight."

Jenner was committed from the beginning to the defense of accused criminals and to the use of his ability in the practice of law to help those in need. Though he argued many cases in the United States Supreme Court, Jenner considered Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776 (1968), his most important case. The United States Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of William Witherspoon because the state excluded those potential jurors who had expressed reservations about the death penalty.

Judge Bauer recalled that Jenner demanded of others the same commitment to pro bono work that he demanded of himself. Bauer remembered that at regular meetings, "attorneys had to tell what they did on behalf of the profession, not just for the firm. If they hadn't done anything for the profession, he didn't want to hear what they'd done for the firm." Jenner practiced what he preached. He was an author of the first Illinois Civil Practice Act. He was Chairman of the U.S. Supreme Court Advisory Committee directed to draft the Federal Rules of Evidence and a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee responsible for revising the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In addition, Jenner was a permanent member of the Editorial Board of the Uniform Commercial Code.

Bert was not just an awesome legal talent. His daughter, C. Lee Jenner, fondly remembers a family man and loving father with a great sense of humor and a lighter side. As the young President of the Illinois State Bar Association he joined the chorus of the annual Christmas Sprits show, clad in fishnet tights and tutu, with a grapefruit bosom and baton. At an ABA Convention one could see Jenner and Barney Sears belting out Irish ditties off key — way off key — while their mortified wives hid in the ladies room.

Jenner's renowned commitment to the legal profession was also illustrated by his extraordinary involvement in professional associations. He was either a founding member, a charter member, or an officer in nearly every major legal organization. He was the youngest attorney ever to serve as president of Illinois State Bar Association, and was president of the American Judicature Society, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the National Conference of Bar Presidents, and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

At age twenty-seven, Jenner was the youngest attorney to serve on the Chicago Bar Association's Board of Managers. Jenner was a founding member of the World Peace Through Law Center and was a member of the Board of Governors for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He was a member and a national co-chairman of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which President Kennedy created in 1963.

Albert Jenner was a charter member of the Board of Governors for the Bar Association of the Seventh Federal Circuit. In 1931, Jenner was chairman of the first Young Lawyers' Committee for the Chicago Bar Association. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association, and served on eleven other committees of the ABA, including being a charter member of the ABA Young Lawyers Division in 1933, and a member of the ABA House of Delegates for thirty-five years.

In recognition of his lifetime achievement and his devotion to his alma mater, the University presented him in 1962 with the University of Illinois Distinguished Alumni Award, and 1981, the College of Law awarded him an Honorary L.L.D. Jenner also received the University of Illinois Award for Longstanding Service to the Legal Profession and Community in 1980.

Jenner dedicated himself to higher education in general, and legal education in particular. Jenner's involvement with the University of Illinois since his graduation was extensive. In addition to defending the University of Illinois on occasion, he was a member of the University of Illinois Foundation, was chosen an Illini Achievement Award winner in 1966 and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1981. He was involved with the University of Illinois Foundation, and the University of Illinois President's Council. He served as counsel for the University of Illinois Law Forum, the precursor to the University of Illinois Law Review, and was a member of the Dean's Club of the College of Law. Jenner also served as Hearing Officer in a trial of students who participated in University of Illinois Campus Riots in 1969. He was a member of the re-accreditation committee of the University of Minnesota Law School and was instrumental in getting a state and university commitment for a new law building there.

His dedication to the College led him to provide funds to endow the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Professorship in Law in 1982, and to fund two more professorships through his estate, one in honor of former Dean Albert James Harno and one in honor of Professor Emeritus Edward Cleary.
Firm History: Nine Decades of Legendary Service

The Firm that would become Jenner & Block was formed in 1914 as Newman, Poppenhusen & Stern by a group of extraordinary lawyers who had been practicing law at other well-established Chicago firms. Each brought special talents and abilities to the new firm. None, however, could have envisioned the prominence the Firm would come to achieve in the years that followed.

The Beginnings

Newman, Poppenhusen & Stern began as a traditional corporate business firm. Jacob Newman, Conrad Poppenhusen and Henry Stern each had served prominent Chicago business clients and substantial individual clients, whose legal work they brought with them to their new firm. They primarily represented banks, investment bankers and mortgage houses as well as industrial corporations.

1920s

The Firm’s principal litigator in the early years was Edward R. Johnston. The “Chief” emerged as a nationally known trial attorney as early as the 1920s, achieving success in many important cases for the Firm's clients. He was the country’s most prominent antitrust lawyer of the time and formed and first chaired the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association. The Chief lived to his 97th year, inspiring many lawyers as late as the mid 1970s.

The Chief’s most notable early victory before the United States Supreme Court came in the landmark 1925 case of Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association v. U.S. He successfully defended against the Department of Justice’s vigorous attack that the exchange of information by trade association members was an antitrust violation. As a result of this victory, the firm attracted many other association clients and began its long history of service to clients in this field.

With the deaths of founding partners Jacob Newman and Henry Stern in late 1928, the Firm needed new lawyers of their stature to help serve its growing client base. They were to find one such leader in Judge Floyd Thompson.

1930s

With no formal education after high school, Floyd E. Thompson was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1916. In 1919, at age 32, he was elected to the Supreme Court of Illinois and later served as Chief Justice of that court. After resigning in 1928 to become the Democratic candidate for governor of Illinois and being defeated in the Hoover landslide, he became a partner with the Firm.

Judge Thompson was an extremely talented trial lawyer who attracted many prominent clients to the firm. Chicago utility czar Samuel Insull retained the firm to represent him in 1934 when the federal government charged him with fraud and violations of the Bankruptcy Act. Judge Thompson successfully defended Insull in three federal and state court trials.

The practice of the firm changed as a result of the Great Depression. Many of the firm’s clients suffered financial reversals, causing the firm’s business and litigation practice to concentrate on the financial crisis of the time. The Firm handled many reorganizations and recapitalizations and represented creditors, bondholder committees and the like.

1940s

The thriving business practice of the firm that re-emerged at the end of the Depression and World War II was developed through extremely talented and dedicated lawyers, including name partners Frederick Mayer and Max Bloomstein. Mr. Bloomstein, who represented real estate syndicates and corporations involved in creating shopping centers, led the organization of the Firm’s corporate, tax and real estate practices.

At the same time, its legendary prowess in litigation continued with a now-famous case.

In 1949, Preston Tucker, developer of the revolutionary Tucker car, was charged in Chicago with fraud and violations of Federal Securities Laws. Judge Thompson stepped in as the defense attorney for Floyd Cerf, the broker who handled the stock issue for the Tucker Corporation. While the car company with its “Tin Goose” would not recover in the end, Tucker and the others were vindicated on all charges.

At the time that Judge Thompson and Edward R. Johnston had achieved national prominence, Albert E. Jenner, Jr. was graduating from law school. He too would achieve national recognition.

1950s

Bert Jenner attended both the University of Illinois and later the University’s Law School, where he received his LL.B. in 1930. He joined the Firm in 1935 as an associate and became a name partner in 1955.

Mr. Jenner’s career spanned more than 50 years. Mr. Jenner appeared before the United States Supreme Court in many cases including: Witherspoon v. Illinois; Mills v. Electric Auto-Lite; Reliance Electric Co. v. Emerson Electric Co.; Gonzales v. Automatic Employees Credit Union; and Serbian Eastern Orthodox Diocese for the United States of America and Canada v. Milivojevich.

Mr. Jenner also handled substantial corporate matters as a result of his long association with Henry Crown and his various business interests, including General Dynamics.

In addition to his unquestioned ability as a trial and corporate lawyer and his ability to attract clients, Mr. Jenner also served the public and the Bar. Among many other honors and commissions, he:

· served as reporter and draftsman for the Illinois Civil Practice Act (1931 – 1934).

· became the youngest president, at age 40, of the Illinois State Bar Association.

· became the eighth president of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

· served as senior counsel to the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy.

· served as a member of the Presidential National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence.

· served on the Advisory Committee for the Federal Rules of Evidence and for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Samuel W. Block received his A.B. degree from Yale University and his LL.B. degree from Harvard Law School. He joined the firm upon his graduation from law school, became a partner in 1948, and a name partner in 1964.

1960s

Mr. Block was an extremely effective lawyer with extensive antitrust and securities expertise. He headed the Firm’s transaction practice and supervised the handling of many large estates and trusts.

Mr. Block was an excellent advocate both in litigated matters and on behalf of corporate clients. At the time of his death in 1970, he had gained prominence in take-over matters, many years before leading New York law firms understood the practice. Mr. Block represented numerous companies in take-over matters, including Northwest Industries, Flying Tiger and Gulf & Western.

Among the many litigation victories the Firm experienced in the course of the decade, Mr. Jenner was most proud of its representation of William Witherspoon, who had been condemned to death for killing a Chicago police officer. Bert Jenner, the son of a Chicago policeman but an ardent opponent of the death penalty, argued in the Supreme Court that the death sentence of Mr. Witherspoon was invalid. Aided by the creative, diligent work of partners Jerold S. Solovy and Thomas P. Sullivan, Mr. Jenner won a landmark victory, as the Court ruled that the jury was indeed tainted with members in favor of the death penalty due to the manner in which the members were selected.

1970s

Mr. Jenner was appointed chief special counsel to the minority of the United States House of Representatives Judicial Committee in its inquiry regarding the impeachment of President Nixon.

A strong advocate of civil and constitutional rights, Bert Jenner spent many years in opposition to the actions of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. The Firm filed a First Amendment challenge to HUAC after it attacked the Firm's client Dr. Jeremiah Stamler, a prominent Chicago heart researcher. As a result of the Stamler case, HUAC was abolished in 1975.

1980s

In yet another landmark case, the Firm represented MCI in MCI v. AT&T, which led to the break-up of the monopoly Bell System across the country.

In September 1982, Jenner & Block opened an office in Washington, D.C., which today has 60 attorneys and an equal number of support staff.

In 1983, the Firm’s Chairman, Jerold S. Solovy, helped set an important precedent regarding commercial speech in the United States Supreme Court decision in Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp. On behalf of his client, Youngs Drugs, Mr. Solovy successfully argued that the 1865 Comstock Act, which was enacted to prevent manufacturers of contraceptive devices from sending unsolicited advertisements through the mail, was an unconstitutional restriction of commercial speech.

Pursuant to his pro bono appointment as a Special Assistant Attorney General in People v. Kohrig, Mr. Solovy successfully argued that the Illinois Supreme Court should uphold the state’s seat belt law, marking the first time that any state Supreme court had so ruled on a similar state law. His extensive civic activities in the 1980s also included heading the Special Commission on the Administration of Justice in Cook County, following the federal probe Operation Greylord, which helped institute needed reform in the Cook County court system.

The decade also marked the return of two Jenner & Block partners who each served for four years as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois: Thomas P. Sullivan rejoined the Firm in 1981, and Anton R. Valukas returned in 1989.

1990s

In an important First Amendment case before the United States Supreme Court, late Partner Bruce Ennis led the Firm’s successful challenge on behalf of the American Library Association and other clients to an act that would have made it a crime to provide “indecent” material to minors over the Internet. Supported by Partner Paul Smith and others, Mr. Ennis argued in Reno v. ACLU that the law would infringe the First Amendment rights of adults across the country, and the Justices agreed in a landmark, 9-0 decision that established the First Amendment rights of speech over the Internet.

And in another nationally significant First Amendment case, the Firm’s team including Mr. Ennis and Partners Deanne Maynard, Mark Schneider and Paul Smith represented ABC in its successful appeal to the Fourth Circuit of a judgment in favor of Food Lion, involving the use of concealed cameras to record alleged food handling abuses by the grocery chain. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that Food Lion’s fraud claim was legally insupportable, thereby reducing the damages awarded by a jury to the nominal sum of $3 and providing a major victory for the news media.

Among many other corporate acquisitions, mergers, spin-offs and divestitures, Jenner & Block represented its long-time client General Dynamics in acquiring important new subsidiaries including Bath Iron Works in 1995, NASSCO in 1998 and Gulfstream Aerospace in 1999.

In addition, the Firm represented Tenneco Inc. in its six-year, $25 billion corporate restructuring which ultimately resulted in the creation of several separate public companies, including Case Corporation, Newport News Shipbuilding Inc., Pactiv Corporation, Tenneco Automotive Inc. and Packaging Corporation of America.

In 1995, Jenner & Block became the first Chicago-based law firm to win the prestigious Pro Bono Publico Award from the American Bar Association.

2000 - today

In 2000, the Firm became a limited liability corporation, elected a seven-member Policy Committee headed by Chairman Jerold S. Solovy and appointed Robert L. Graham, Co-Chair of the Firm’s Environmental, Energy and Natural Resources Practice, as its Managing Partner.

For its client General Electric Credit Corporation (GECC), the Firm won a $181 million judgment after a jury trial against DirecTV, Hughes Electronics and General Motors Corp., in a breach of contract lawsuit. The award in GECC v. DirecTV is the largest jury award in the State of Connecticut’s history.

The Firm successfully represented the Boston-based Kennedy Family in Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. Kennedy by obtaining a declaratory judgment against the mortgage-holding insurance company’s claim that $53 million in prepayment penalties were owed to it in connection with the sale of Chicago’s famed Merchandise Mart.

The Firm also represented General Dynamics and many other clients in a variety of acquisitions including General Dynamics’ $1 billion purchase of three information systems divisions from GTE and its $825 million acquisition of Motorola’s Integrated Information Systems Group, now known as General Dynamics Decision Systems.

In 2001, while many large law firms cut back significantly on their commitment to public service, Jenner & Block made the uncommon decision to leave our acclaimed commitment to pro bono work intact. As a result, The American Lawyer magazine and the National Law Journal have again ranked the Firm's pro bono program as one of the nation's very best.

We also continued to successfully represent our clients in their most challenging cases and transactions. We obtained a tremendous victory when an arbitrator ordered that Snap-on Inc. pay SPX $44 million, resolving a patent and business dispute concerning automotive engine diagnostic machines that had lasted more than 10 years. For Paramount Pictures, the Firm obtained dismissal of a defamation suit against our client in connection with its release of the popular movie “Hardball.”

Throughout 2002, we improved our service to our corporate clientele, by expanding our practices and enhancing our capabilities, and by adding trial, transactional and business services lawyers prominent in their fields.

We closed many complex M&A and corporate finance transactions, often in highly compressed timeframes, and provided extensive counseling on securities and corporate governance matters, especially in the aftermath of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. We argued cases and secured victories from the trial court level through the United States Supreme Court. Indeed, as the Chicago Tribune noted, Jenner & Block had “a remarkable run” with six cases before the High Court during the 2002 Term.

We were included among the top 20 law firms nationwide in the prestigious annual National Law Journal survey, “Who Defends Corporate America.” We were again ranked by The American Lawyer magazine and the National Law Journal as having one of the nation’s very best pro bono programs.

In 2003 we helped clients close several multibillion-dollar mergers and corporate financings, including what is believed to be the largest corporate issuance of securities in history. Multidisciplinary teams of lawyers also assisted many clients in large-scale corporate restructurings. Our Litigation Practice was also characteristically active — securing client victories in courts and arbitrations in the U.S. and abroad in cases with billions of dollars at stake, and arguing seven cases before the United States Supreme Court including Lawrence v. Texas, a landmark civil rights decision widely considered the most important gay rights decision in a generation, and FCC v. NextWave, in which the Court returned billions of dollars worth of wireless phone spectrum licenses to our client. The Firm received national recognition in publications such as the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Daily Journal, which carried stories on the profound impact that our victories for businesses and individuals in the highest courts would have for years, if not generations, to come. Partner Thomas P. Sullivan was selected by the American Bar Association to receive the prestigious John Minor Wisdom Award for his significant contributions to public service and the community.

The American Lawyer magazine included Jenner & Block in its inaugural “A-List” of 20 “first-tier” law firms, based on client quality and satisfaction, pro bono service, associate satisfaction and commitment to diversity. Meanwhile, Corporate Counsel magazine's closely watched survey of “Who Represents Corporate America” revealed that our Firm ranked in the Top 5 of law firms with clients that indicated that they were getting great service and great results.

Our commitment to public service remained steadfast with The American Lawyer and the National Law Journal again ranking the Firm’s pro bono program as one of the nation's very finest, while Vault rated us No. 1.

In 2004, we significantly expanded our intellectual property capabilities with the addition of attorneys who previously practiced as Roper & Quigg, a prominent intellectual property trial boutique. We closed numerous corporate deals and financings that helped our clients compete in an ever-expanding global marketplace. Early in 2004, GSI, Inc. announced that Jenner & Block ranked in the top 20 of law firms in the nation based on total value of merger and acquisition transactions handled in 2003. We played a significant role in helping several troubled companies emerge from bankruptcy stronger than ever. We also continued our track record of success in high-stakes litigation and arbitrations. Industries such as real estate, insurance, telecommunications, entertainment and new media, and defense were among the many sectors affected by our clients’ victories at both the trial and appellate levels.

The Firm and our attorneys were honored to be singled out by professional bar groups and the media for our work on behalf of our clients. Corporate Counsel magazine's 2004 “Who Represents America’s Biggest Companies” survey indicated that Jenner & Block was among the top 20 law firms most mentioned by corporate America as primary litigation counsel. Vault ranked Jenner & Block in the Top 20 law firms nationally for Best in Region and for Pro Bono, Overall Diversity, Diversity for Women, Diversity for Gays and Lesbians and Best Law Firms to Work For. For the second year in a row, Jenner & Block was the only Chicago-headquartered law firm to make The American Lawyer's “A-List” of 20 “top tier” law firms.

Drawing on the legacy of the legendary Albert E. Jenner, Jr., our more than 400 attorneys dedicated nearly 54,000 hours of billable time to numerous pro bono cases. The Firm received the 2004 John C. McAndrews Pro Bono Service Award from the Illinois State Bar Association — a great affirmation of our dedication and commitment to pro bono advocacy. The Firm’s pro bono successes included the nationally watched Baltimore housing discrimination trial victory earned on behalf of thousands of public housing residents in that city. In his 50th year of service to the bar, with Jenner & Block and as a U.S. Attorney, Partner Thomas P. Sullivan was named Chicago Lawyer's person of the year and was honored with the American Judicature Society’s “Justice Award.”

In 2005, the Firm experienced an unmatched record of success in high-stakes commercial litigation and continued our significant representation of clients in transactions and other business services. In the beginning of the year, Gregory S. Gallopoulos was named the Firm’s Managing Partner. Mr. Gallopoulos has been a part of the Firm’s senior management, chairing the Finance Committee and serving on its Management Committee. His prolific trial practice has covered a broad range of business and tax litigation.

Firm Chairman, Jerold S. Solovy, in his 50th year of practice with Jenner & Block, was chosen to receive the American Bar Association’s John Minor Wisdom Award for a career-long commitment to pro bono representation and the administration of justice. Partner Stephanie A. Scharf completed her term as the President of the National Association of Women Lawyers and Partner E. Lynn Grayson served as the Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association Alliance For Women.

From complex trials to groundbreaking Supreme Court cases, Jenner & Block attorneys applied their skills to obtain unparalleled successes for our clients. Acting as co-lead counsel, our attorneys obtained the largest known jury verdict in a securities fraud case – approximately $1.6 billion – in Coleman (Parent) Holdings, Inc. v. Morgan Stanley. Jenner & Block attorneys also spearheaded anti-piracy litigation efforts on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America, and won a unanimous decision on behalf of the entire entertainment industry in MGM Studios v. Grokster, the most-watched commercial case of the Supreme Court’s Term. Teams of Jenner & Block attorneys demonstrated their unique grasp on constitutional, international and military law in numerous U.S. Supreme Court briefs in “enemy combatant” cases as well as in the representation of David Hicks and several other Guantanamo detainees in habeas corpus proceedings.

On the Corporate law side, the Firm continued to represent General Dynamics in significant strategic acquisitions as well as other coporate clients in a broad range of M&A, Securities, restructuring, finance and other transactions. We represented the Chicago Board of Trade in its execution of an innovative and complex demutualization and restructuring into a for-profit company, resulting in a public offering of securities to the Board of Trade members in April of 2005. In October of 2005, we represented the Chicago Board of Trade holding company in a very successful initial public offering of approximately $200 million of its common stock to the investing public. Our Bankruptcy, Workout and Corporate Reorganization practice was involved in several high-profile bankruptcy and reorganizations matters for companies such United Airlines, McDermott Inc., Protocol Services, Jernberg Industries and AmeriHost Inn Founder, Arlington Hospitality. A team of bankruptcy lawyers led the post-bankruptcy sale of Archibald Candy Corporation, which was selected as the “Transaction of the Year,” by The Chicago Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA).

Additional landmark cases and significant deals are mentioned throughout the rest of this website.

2005 also marked being recognized by Vault as one of the 50 most prestigious law firms in the United States. BTI Consulting Group conducted an interview of 329 corporate counsel at Fortune 1000 companies that showed that Jenner & Block is considered a premier “Bet the Company” law firm. Jenner & Block was also recognized for our continued commitment to community and public service. Our pro bono program was ranked second largest in the nation by The American Lawyer and we were named the DC Bar’s 2005 Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year.

In October of 2005, Jenner & Block opened an office in New York at 919 Third Avenue in order to enhance the delivery of the Firm’s full service litigation and transactional capabilities to our existing and future global clients.

Into The Future

Over nine decades, Jenner & Block’s reputation as one of the country’s most successful law firms has been established by consistently delivering excellent legal counsel to clients in the boardroom and in the courtroom, from the trial level through the United States Supreme Court.

Today, the Firm has over 400 lawyers offering experience in virtually every area of the law. Jenner & Block’s clients include industrial, commercial, telecommunications, research and development, technology, and utility companies, as well as financial and service enterprises. In the public sector, the Firm represents a variety of state and local governmental entities.

The Firm’s attorneys continue to win impressive victories for our clients in a broad range of complex and challenging civil and criminal cases before federal, state and administrative tribunals. They have argued matters in the United States Supreme Court, all of the 13 United States Circuit Courts of Appeal and numerous other federal and state courts across the nation. Attorneys concentrating in the Firm’s transactional practice areas are handling major corporate reorganizations and bankruptcies, leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, tax matters, financings, patents and real estate transactions for clients.

As we look to the future, we will work to build on our success, using our capabilities, our knowledge and our perseverance to help our clients reach their goals, meet their challenges and fulfill their aspirations.

To that end, we will continue to invest in the development of our attorneys, because doing so enriches our relationships with our clients and enhances our results for our clients. We will continue to hone our skills and advance our professional knowledge by publishing and teaching, because doing so helps ensure that we remain at the forefront of legal thought. And we will continue our commitment to our clients, to the legal profession, to the organized bar, and to the community, because doing so serves and honors our values, culture and tradition.