Two major law firms with deep roots in Chicago are hosting programs this week in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention to showcase their practices and grow their client bases.
Mayer Brown, founded in Chicago in 1881, served on the convention’s host committee and sponsored events, including an Aug. 18 reception with Dewey Square at the Field Museum on the city’s lakefront.
Jenner & Block, whose roots in the Windy City date back to 1914, hosted a panel discussion with five 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.
Local lawyers hope to use their networking to attract paying clients to their firms, demonstrate their credibility in politics, and advertise their connections to political leaders.
“It demonstrates our presence in what we consider to be a very substantive public policy practice,” Joseph Seliga, a partner at Mayer Brown, said in an interview. He said the firm had about 25 lawyers participating in congressional-related events this week.
Jenner & Block hosted about four public events and a number of more personal conversations with clients.
“We really just see this as an opportunity to make sure we’re present and at our best,” said Ann O’Leary, a partner at Jenner and co-chair of the firm’s government controversy and public policy litigation group.
Lawyers and law firms of all kinds – from major bar associations to plaintiffs’ lawyers – are regular attendees at the Democratic conventions, says Steve Caplan, a veteran political strategist who now teaches political advertising at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
For lawyers, this is the only opportunity every four years to interact with politicians from across the country, he said. The lawyers build contacts and, in some cases, get the kind of personal contact that can lead to a judicial nomination, Caplan said.
“This is an important moment for law firms,” said Caplan, who has attended all but two Democratic conventions since 1988. “It’s about building relationships.”
Similar activities had also occurred in the Republican National Committee. Husch Blackwell co-hosted a lawyers’ reception in his Milwaukee office during the July convention.
