Dykema is a law firm serving business entities worldwide on a wide range of complex legal issues. The firm was founded in 1926 in Detroit by Raymond K. Dykema, Elroy O. Jones and Renville Wheat. The firm's Midwest presence was significantly enhanced with the 2004 combination with Chicago firm Rooks Pitts which was founded in 1897. The firm has offices in various locations around the United States including Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Antonio and Washington, D.C. It currently employs more than 425 lawyers and lobbying professionals. Dykema's largest office is in Chicago but its combined southeastern Michigan offices are collectively larger. The 2015 merger with Cox Smith out of San Antonio has provided the firm with a larger Texas presence. The firm is one of the largest Midwest-based United States law firms, and is the 130th largest firm in the United States. The firm's website indicates that it represents "individuals, publicly held companies, hundreds of privately held corporations, limited and general partnerships, associations, hospitals and managed care networks, banks and financial institutions, and retailers." Among other areas, Dykema has one of the larger automotive-related law firm practices in the United States. The firm represents Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, and Volvo. Also substantial is Dykema’s banking and consumer financial services practice. For example, thirty percent of the firm's reported litigation cases over the last two years have involved banking issues. According to the firm, it "provides counseling and litigation representation to financial institutions, including banks, savings and loan associations, finance companies, credit card issuers, mortgage bankers, vendors and retailers." Dykema's Financial Industry Group publishes the NextGen Financial Services Report, a blog providing analysis on the commercial financial services industry. Dykema is also Michigan editor to the consumer financial services online publicationsHouseLaw and CarLaw. In 2015, the firm expanded its presence in Texas by combining with venerable Texas firm, Cox Smith adding offices in Austin, El Paso, McAllen and San Antonio.
Honors
Dykema is ranked as a top firm by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, with Chambers identifying thirteen Dykema practice areas and twenty two Dykema lawyers in 2015 as leading practitioners in their fields Also, over half of Dykema attorneys were named a 2014 Super Lawyer or Rising Star by Thomson Reuters' "Super Lawyers", the annual ranking that recognizes attorneys who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Also in 2015, Dykema Earned a perfect score in the Human Rights Campaign’s 2015 Corporate Equality Index. Dykema was, in 2012, named the top corporate law firm in Detroit by Corporate Board Member Magazine. The 2012 study is the publication’s 12th annual Legal Industry Research Study, a comprehensive ranking by U.S. corporate directors and general counsel at the nation’s top corporate law firms.
