Big Law Firms Network, Tout Practices at Democratic Convention

Two Big Law firms with deep Chicago roots are hosting programs tied to the Democratic National Convention this week to show off their practices and build their client base.

Mayer Brown, founded in Chicago in 1881, contributed to the convention’s host committee and is sponsoring events that included an Aug. 18 reception with Dewey Square at the city’s lakefront Field Museum.

Jenner & Block, which traces its Windy City roots to 1914, scheduled a panel discussion with five state attorneys general, including Kwame Raoul of Illinois, Letitia James of New York, Rob Bonta of California, Josh Kaul of Wisconsin, and Dana Nessel of Michigan.

Attorneys on the ground are hoping to turn the networking into paying clients for their firms, showing off their policy bona fides and touting connections to political leaders.

“It’s demonstrating our presence in terms of what we consider a very substantive public policy practice,” Mayer Brown partner Joseph Seliga said in an interview. The firm has about 25 attorneys attending convention-related events this week, he said.

Jenner & Block hosted about four public events and a slew of more intimate client interactions.

“We really just see this as an opportunity to make sure that we are present and at the top of our game,” said Ann O’Leary, Jenner partner and co-chair of the firm’s government controversies and public policy litigation group.

Lawyers and law firms of all types—from Big Law to plaintiff-side attorneys—are regular attendees of Democratic National Conventions, said Steve Caplan, a veteran political strategist who now teaches political advertising at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

For lawyers, it’s the one chance every four years to connect with politicians from across the country, he said. The attorneys cement relationships and, in some cases, get the sort of face time that could lead to a judicial nomination, Caplan said.

“It’s an important moment for law firms,” said Caplan, who’s attended all but two Democratic conventions since 1988. “It’s about relationship building.”

The Republican National Committee saw similar activity. Husch Blackwell co-hosted a lawyers reception in during the July convention at its Milwaukee office.