EDITORS’ NOTE

Richard A. Rosenbaum is the executive chairman of Greenberg Traurig, a unified international law firm of more than 2,400 attorneys spanning 42 offices around the globe and has long been considered a thought and change leader in the broader legal profession. He joined the firm in 1985 as its 90th lawyer and has since been integrally involved in forming and intensely executing the strategies which have led to the firm’s spectacular growth and unique culture. He closely guards the firm’s long-term core values while navigating ever-changing times. Rosenbaum is a founder of the firm’s renowned and wide-ranging “Commitment to Excellence” program, which ensures that its values remain critical to the firm’s daily practice and global brand for many years to come.

FIRM BRIEF

Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) often recognized for its focus on philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono, reported gross revenue of over $2 billion for FY 2021. The firm is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law 100, Am Law Global 100, NLJ 250, and Law360 (US) 400. On the debut 2022 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard, it is a Top 15 firm. Greenberg Traurig (gtlaw.com)is Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified Plus and net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage.

Greenberg Traurig has a long-standing culture of supporting its employees, clients, and communities. How do you maintain this culture?

I am reminded of Bob Dylan’s song “Forever Young”: “May your hands always be busy, may your feet always be swift, may you have a strong foundation when the winds of change will shift.” These intersecting principles – a solid foundation and the ability to be nimble – are two cornerstones of our success.

Our firm was built on a culture of inclusion, collaboration, innovation, respect, trust and giving back. As we expand, we select professionals with local expertise who also share our culture to ensure that we preserve our core values for the future.

We have always been swift to adapt. Our foundational support empowers us to find opportunity in change, moving quickly to overcome any obstacles and harnessing the power of every advantage. We never follow the pack – we stay ahead of the herd and act boldly.

The result is one unified firm and family that collaborates across practices, industries and time zones to provide the best depth of expertise, convenience and value to our clients.

As a leading global law firm with a wealth of expertise and resources, will you elaborate on how you accomplish and encourage helping those in need?

As lawyers, we have a social and moral responsibility to ensure that everyone has equal access to justice. We support our attorneys and staff who provide pro bono legal services to many civic and charitable organizations as well as to individuals in need around the world.

Witnessing the atrocities in Ukraine in real time, we knew we had to act swiftly and definitively. We immediately mobilized our global resources to provide pro bono legal services and up to $2 million to bolster humanitarian aid for displaced refugees. Our employees are also personally donating.

Our Greenberg Traurig Equal Justice Works Fellows help tackle racial, economic and social justice issues. We have also committed $5 million over five years to support programs to combat systemic racism and to provide impoverished communities and individuals with economic and social rights.

Our attorneys fight for causes that resonate with them and with their clients. They champion social justice for women seeking freedom from domestic violence and human trafficking, criminal appeals for the wrongfully incarcerated or over-sentenced, victims of hate crimes, and issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community and military veterans.

How have Greenberg Traurig’s culture and nimbleness benefited employees and clients during these uncertain times?

Throughout the pandemic, we were communicative and transparent with our employees and stayed true to our decisions that we would not lay people off or cut everyone’s compensation. We remained seamlessly connected to each other and to our clients, staying highly responsive and continuously providing excellence of service.

Additionally, in New York we piloted a new kind of “hybrid” model, designed to offer a better work-life experience for our professionals and greater convenience and value for our clients. We expanded our locations in the New York metropolitan area to be close to where our attorneys, staff, and clients live. Our innovative platform combines the ability to work-near-home with access to a state-of-the-art Manhattan office and the resources of a world class global law firm. We believe that no other law firm covers the New York metropolitan area as comprehensively and boldly as we do. Whatever challenges arise, we remain ever-nimble and continue to find opportunities in change, redefining what Big Law can be.

Will you elaborate on the firm’s long-standing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I)?

We are continuously striving to actualize meaningful change, including expansion of our comprehensive, strategic, and proactive DE&I efforts. We have always believed that diverse viewpoints drive innovation and create better ideas for our clients. Equity is more than a core value; it is in our DNA, and it is intentional. In 2021, our accomplishments included achieving Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified Plus, among others. We also launched several new initiatives within our Social, Racial, and Economic Justice Action Plan.

This includes working with clients to combine our shared values, resources, and efforts to maximize our ability to create a more diverse and fair society. Beyond the more standard collaborations, our Labor & Employment Practice and our DE&I leadership have developed training and programming offerings for clients. These teams create and implement employment compliance programs addressing their DE&I responsibilities.

The firm reached record revenue for FY 2021. How does this success further your legacy?

We surpassed $2 billion in 2021, our eighth year of record-breaking revenue. That was a great achievement, but it is not a pass to rest. Growth is not just about numbers – quality of culture and being keenly aware of the demands and needs of clients are critical. Success is not just about being the smartest or the strongest. You also need to adapt and execute and do it together.

Greenberg Traurig is about endurance – as a business, as a family and as a culture. We believe in our unique business model, and our commitment to excellence has truly paid off. There is a quote that says, “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.” Our endurance and outperformance are a force for good not only for ourselves, but for our employees, our clients, our communities, and the world. I am very optimistic about what new heights we can reach next year and beyond.