Ballard Spahr


Ballard Spahr LLP is an AmLaw 100 law firm with more than 600 lawyers practicing throughout the United States. Founded in 1885, Ballard is one of the largest law firms in the United States according to The American Lawyer, with particular expertise in the areas of litigation, securities and regulatory enforcement, business and finance, intellectual property, public finance, and real estate matters. The firm is headquartered at 1735 Market Street in Philadelphia.

History

Ballard Spahr traces its origins to Philadelphia in 1885 and became known as 'Ballard and Spahr' in the early 1900s when University of Pennsylvania alumni Ellis Ames Ballard and Boyd Lee Spahr began practicing law together. The firm has continually grown by number of attorneys, practices, and offices throughout the United States since inception.
The firm opened its first office outside of Philadelphia in 1978, with the opening of its Washington, D.C. office. Ballard subsequently opened its Denver office in 1981, laying the foundation for growth in the Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions. The firm later opened offices in Salt Lake City in 1987, Baltimore and New Jersey in 1992, and Delaware in 2002.
Ballard Spahr acquired Needle & Rosenberg, P.C., an intellectual property boutique firm in Atlanta in 2008, expanding the firm's IP services and establishing a foothold in the Southeast. The firm opened an office in New York City in 2013, joining with Stillman & Friedman, a noted white collar defense and securities litigation and enforcement boutique.
The firm acquired preeminent First Amendment litigation boutique Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz in 2017, bolstering Ballard's national media and entertainment law practice. Most recently, Ballard acquired Lindquist & Vennum, a leader in middle-market deal making.

Practice areas

Ballard Spahr is a general practice law firm with a wide range of practice areas, with a particular emphasis on litigation. Over 250 litigators at the firm advise some of the nation’s biggest market players in securities and antitrust class actions, patent infringement cases, white collar defense matters, and federal and state appeals. The firm has a large real estate practice in the United States, encompassing virtually all aspects of real estate finance, conveyancing, construction, and development. The firm also has a significant presence in mergers and acquisitions, securities and securities enforcement, and other areas of corporate law, including the representation of sports franchises. The firm has also represented government entities in the issuance of municipal bonds and other tax-exempt instruments. The firm also practices in the areas of labor & employment, insurance law, environmental law, tax law and other related sub-disciplines.

Rankings