Ballard Spahr

One of the largest and most prominent firms in Philadelphia, Ballard Spahr has a large and growing national footprint, with more than 750 lawyers in 19 offices across the country. The firm has thriving practices in litigation, business and transactions, intellectual property (IP), finance, and real estate.

Philadelphia Breeds a Nationwide Network

Ballard Spahr traces its roots to 1885, when Philadelphia lawyer Ellis Ballard joined a law firm led by Rufus Shapley. These attorneys were joined by fellow University of Pennsylvania alumnus Boyd Lee Spahr and R. Sturgis Ingersoll. In the early 1930s, the firm became known as Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, and it was changed to Ballard Spahr LLP in 2009. The opening of a Washington, DC, office in 1978 marked the beginning of decades of expansion outside the City of Brotherly Love. Recent growth includes the firm’s merger with media boutique firm Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz in 2017; with Minneapolis-based Lindquist & Vennum, known for its strength in middle-market M&A transactions, in 2018; and with Pacific Northwest powerhouse Lane Powell in 2025.

Jack of All Trades

Ballard Spahr focuses on five main practices: business and transactions, IP, litigation, finance, and real estate. Its largest practice group is litigation, which comprises more than 350 attorneys. Litigators at the firm advise some of the nation’s biggest market players in media law, securities, antitrust class actions, patent infringement cases, white-collar defense matters, and federal and state appeals.

The firm also boasts a multifaceted real estate practice that handles matters from commercial leasing, construction, eminent domain, and industrial development to mixed-use development and real estate taxation. The firm counsels clients on their development projects, including condominiums, high-rise buildings, resorts, and shopping centers. The firm’s real estate clients constitute a diverse group and include financial institutions, housing authorities, hospitals, hotels, investors, lenders, developers, real estate brokerage companies, real estate investment trusts, and retail companies. To advance housing and community development, Ballard Spahr has an affordable housing practice.

Investing in Training and Well-being

Ballard Spahr attorneys work hard, but that doesn’t mean it’s all about the billables. In 2019, the firm created a Wellness at Work committee to further attorney well-being and promote healthy lifestyles. The firm’s Pathways to Partnership initiative, a multifaceted program that prepares senior lawyers to hit the ground running once promoted to partner, was a finalist for The American Lawyer’s Best Professional Development Initiative Industry Award in 2024. The firm often hosts events, such as a morning coffee break or networking happy hour.

• Successfully defended The New York Times in Sarah Palin’s high-profile defamation suit, a 10-day jury trial that safeguarded the First Amendment’s actual malice standard established in New York Times v. Sullivan.
• Lead counsel to the developers of Baltimore Peninsula, a $6.9 billion, 260-acre waterfront redevelopment, advising from master planning through long-term build-out.
• Counsel to the Nordstrom Family Group in its $6.25 billion transaction to take the iconic retailer private.

• Law Firm of the Year for Media Law, 2026—Best Lawyers
• Most Feared Law Firm for Litigation, 2026—BTI Consulting
• 185 leading lawyers and 76 leading practices, 2025—Chambers USA
• 80 lawyers and 19 practices recognized for national excellence, 2025—The Legal 500
• 27 litigators lamed to Litigation Star, Future Star, and 40 & Under Lists, 2026—Benchmark Litigation