WilmerHale is a 1,000-lawyer strong firm with highly experienced litigators, technology specialists and business counselors. Presently, the firm has a total of 11 offices scattered in different cities in the United States, Europe and Asia. WilmerHale has a total of 1,500 staff members.

The firm is committed to delivering excellence and quality service to its clients and in every undertaking it takes.

WilmerHale was created after the 2004 merger of Wilmer Cutler Pickering LLP, a firm founded in 1962 by Lloyd Cutler, John Pickering and Richard Wilmer; and Hale and Dorr, which was founded in 1918 by Richard Hale, Dudley Dorr, Frank Grinnell, Roger Swaim and John Maguire. It currently holds it headquarters in two areas: Washington, D.C. and Boston, Massachusetts. It has other offices, albeit smaller ones, in Los Angeles, London, Brussels, Palo Alto, Beijing, Berlin and Waltham, Massachusetts.

WilmerHale is primarily known for its pro bono work. Its pro bono history dates back to the early part of the 20th century when WilmerHale partner Reginald Heber Smith, known as the “father of legal aid in the United States,” wrote a book titled Justice and the Poor. His heroic effort paved the way for the assurance of equal justice for those with insufficient financial means. This likewise led to Pickering’s establishment of the Pro Bono Institute’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge in 1992.

WilmerHale’s lawyers actively take part in various national and international public service activities. Some of the firm’s high profile pro bono cases include its representation of Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold in the case involving the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act and it representation of the University of Michigan in defense of its affirmative action policy.

Aside from its exceptional pro bono work, WilmerHale is also committed to delivering quality service to its client in various fields or areas of practice like Antitrust Litigation, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and Investigations and Criminal Litigation.

Its exceptionally talented lawyers have been recognized for their various achievements and definitive work. In fact, in 1997, 93 of them were included in The Best Lawyers America’s list of outstanding lawyers. Other awards the firm has received include being the 22nd largest firm in the U.S. in terms of number of lawyers (The National Law Journal), 18th largest law firm in the world based on its revenue, 2008 Intellectual Property Litigation Group of the Year (The American Lawyer) and Vault’s Most Prestigious Law Firms for 2009.

Some of WilmerHale’s most notable lawyers are Jamie Gorelick and Seth P. Waxman.