Blank Rome LLP

Rankings

Chambers USA 2009 Recognizes More Blank Rome Attorneys and Practices

Blank Rome is pleased to announce that our practice groups and attorneys have again increased their rankings in the 2009 edition of Chambers USA:  America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.  Chambers USA recognized our practice groups in 12 categories this year, and also ranked more than 35 of our attorneys as “leaders in their fields.”

We received five national practice rankings (including three #1 rankings) in Investment Funds: Venture Capital and in four categories of Transportation (Shipping).  In addition, we were recognized in both Pennsylvania and Delaware in Bankruptcy/Restructuring.  In Pennsylvania, we achieved six practice rankings (including three #1 rankings), including Banking & Finance, Corporate/M&A & Private Equity, Labor & Employment, Litigation, and Real Estate.

Blank Rome attorneys ranked among this year’s best are:

Banking & Finance

Lawrence Flick II
Harvey I. Forman
Michael C. Graziano
Mark I. Rabinowitz
Joan N. Stern

Bankruptcy/Restructuring

Thomas E. Biron
Bonnie Glantz Fatell
Regina Stango Kelbon
Michael B. Schaedle
Joel Charles Shapiro
Raymond Shapiro

Corporate/M&A & Private Equity

Fred Blume
Steven Dubow
Barry H. Genkin
David Gitlin
Alan L. Zeiger

Investment Funds: Venture Capital

Louis M. Rappaport

Labor & Employment

Anthony Haller
Michael J. Hanlon
Scott Cooper
Barry L. Klein

Litigation

Ann Blair Laupheimer
Stephen M. Orlofsky
James T. Smith

Real Estate

Joseph Finkelstein
Peter Foster Kelsen
Craig Lord
Philip Rosenfeldt

Transportation: Shipping Litigation

Thomas H. Belknap, Jr.
Jack A. Greenbaum
John D. Kimball

Transportation: Shipping Regulatory

Jonathan K. Waldron

The qualities on which rankings were assessed include technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities most valued by clients.

Chambers & Partners, the UK-based publishers of Chambers USA, conducted research by speaking to a vast range of lawyers and their clients (i.e., commercial users of legal services).  In-depth interviews with clients and with attorneys were done, each one lasting about half an hour.  For the current U.S. directory, over 14,000 of these interviews were conducted, covering the whole of the U.S.A.  They were carried out by a team of over 40 full-time researchers over a period of 6 months.

Greater weighting was given to the views of the clients, and any biased viewpoints tended to cancel each other out.  All interviews were conducted purely for research purposes and were entirely confidential and unattributed.  The methodology for the research into the strengths and reputations of U.S. attorneys has been approved by the British Market Research Bureau.

The rankings and editorial comment about attorneys are independent and objective.  Inclusion in this section of the guide is based solely on the research team's findings.  Chambers is widely viewed among the most highly respected publications in the world that rate lawyers, in part because inclusion cannot be purchased.