Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

OVERVIEW

Founded in 1919, Patterson Belknap is a law firm of over 200 lawyers committed to providing high quality legal advice and service to clients and to maintaining a congenial and diverse workplace. We make our clients’ business issues our own. At the same time, we care about our attorneys, our staff and the community we are privileged to serve.

Patterson Belknap delivers a full range of services across more than 20 practice groups in both litigation and commercial law. Our practice groups and attorneys are regularly ranked among the leaders in New York and nationally by the most respected industry guides, based on client and peer reviews. Clients include a diverse group of institutions and individuals: from pharmaceutical and medical device companies to major media and publishing empires; from consumer products companies to financial institutions; from fine art museums to famous entertainers; from foreign companies seeking to transact business on U.S. stock exchanges to U.S. companies doing business abroad.

Patterson Belknap is a magnet for independent thinkers. We were founded by attorneys who believed they could create a more congenial atmosphere on their own, away from the lockstep anonymity of larger firms. The firm carefully manages growth and purposefully operates with a single office in New York City. As a result, we can exercise concentrated quality control, and our attorneys can draw freely on each other’s skills in an atmosphere that has been described as “collegial to the extreme.” The National Law Journal has included Patterson Belknap on a list of firms that it considers to have “the nimbleness and adaptability that come from lean operations and strong client ties.” This environment promotes the responsiveness, efficiency and personal attention we believe clients seek. The reward for Patterson Belknap has been the loyalty of our clients, many of which have remained with the firm for decades.

Commitment to public service is, and always has been, a key value of the firm. We are consistently ranked near the top of The American Lawyer’s annual pro bono survey. Every year since 2004, 100% of our attorneys participated in pro bono projects, perhaps a first for a law firm of our size. At the heart of our pro bono program is a deep commitment to bringing the best possible legal representation to the most underserved, and frequently overlooked, populations. We are proud of the work we do, frequently teaming up with some of the nation’s most respected legal services organizations, to improve the lives of those whose voices might not be heard otherwise. We are also committed to the defense of human and civil rights. Our pro bono work includes the defense of prisoners on death row and our attorneys have filed several amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal on issues relating to the “War on Terror.”

Patterson Belknap is dedicated to being the best professional home in New York City, maintaining an atmosphere and culture of civility, dignity, inclusion, and respect in which all firm personnel can engage and flourish. Diversity among our lawyers and staff is critical to that culture. Among our several diversity initiatives, we have three affinity groups (Patterson Attorneys of Color, Out at Patterson, Women Lawyers at Patterson), which meet regularly to discuss issues and concerns and to foster mentoring. The affinity groups also assist in efforts to recruit women and diverse students, clerks, and lateral attorneys.

PRO BONO

Patterson Belknap has a long and proud history of public service, embodied today in our unparalleled pro bono program. Every lawyer at the firm is active in pro bono work. Since 2004, 100% of our attorneys have participated in pro bono projects every year. By accepting the American Bar Association’s pro bono challenge, we agreed to devote up to five percent of the firm’s annual billable hours to public service work. The firm is consistently ranked near the top of The American Lawyer’s annual pro bono survey.

http://www.pbwt.com/probono/