With more than 900 lawyers around the world, including in Asia and London, Duane Morris has 23 offices across the United States.

Small, Medium, Big

In 1904 in Philadelphia, four lawyers formed the partnership that is known today as Duane Morris. In the mid-1980s, the firm expanded—opening an office in Delaware—and it hasn’t looked back since. It opened 8 more offices in the 1990s and 15 new offices in the 2000s. International growth was initiated with the opening of its London office in 2000, and the firm landed in Asia in 2007.

From Construction to Cannabis

Duane Morris’ practices include Litigation, Corporate Law, Intellectual Property, Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring, Labor Employment and Immigration, Energy and Environment, Health Law, Real Estate, and Private Client Services. The firm also serves clients in some niche industries, including infrastructure and cannabis. The firm provides counsel on issues relating to construction and engineering projects, including litigation, contract formation, public-private partnership projects, financing, and real estate; environmental; and tax issues.

Duane Morris has also taken a deep dive into the emerging area of cannabis regulation law. The firm provides services in nearly all facets of cannabis law, from financing and licensing to IP and litigation. In 2018, the firm kicked off its partnership with the American Trade Association of Cannabis and Hemp—the first partnership between a law firm and a trade organization in the cannabis industry. Additionally, Duane Morris hosts a webinar series addressing the effects of the cannabis business on the law and vice versa.

A Specimen for Study

Harvard Business Professor Boris Groysberg commissioned a 2006 study of the firm for his students and called it, “Duane Morris: Balancing Growth and Culture at a Law Firm.” According to the ABA Journal, Groysberg found that, despite its rapid expansion, Duane Morris had maintained its “Quaker values” and an “unusually narrow” difference between the highest and lowest compensation rates for partners. The study also noted Duane Morris’ practice of emphasizing lateral hires in its recruitment strategy.

In 2013, the Harvard Business School published its second case study of the firm titled, “Collaborating for Growth: Duane Morris in a Turbulent Legal Sector.” This case study revealed the firm’s success in maintaining its collaborative culture, as well as the firm’s continued expansion into new markets. The study concluded that Duane Morris maintained its “Quaker ways” via “a transparent, data-driven compensation system, practice-group integration across multiple offices, and rewards for attorneys who shared responsibility.”

In addition to accolades offered through these case studies, Duane Morris has been heralded as a leading law firm for diversity and inclusion. It has earned the Minority Corporate Counsel Association Innovator Award and was among the first firms to name a chief diversity officer. Duane Morris associates participate in an annual diversity and inclusion retreat that focuses on business development and prioritizing inclusion in all firm practices.

• Advised the President of India and Life Insurance Corporation of India on the sale of $2.7 billion of equity shares in LIC (the biggest IPO in Indian history)
• Obtained a settlement for class of osteopaths alleging American Osteopathic Association conditioning of board certification on the purchase of membership constituted unlawful tying in violation of antitrust laws. In addition to ending the membership requirement, AOA agreed to provide physicians economic benefits estimated in value between $35 million and $84 million
• Represented iAnthus in $1.6 billion merger with MPX Bioceutical, the first public-to-public merger transaction in U.S. cannabis industry

• Best Companies to Work For – Law Firms, 2024 —U.S. News & World Report
• Mansfield Certification Plus Status, 2023—Diversity Lab
• Duane Morris achieved a third-place national ranking and a second-place city of Philadelphia ranking in The American Lawyer’s 2023 Summer Associate Satisfaction Survey, 2023—ALM 
• “Top Workplace” in Philadelphia, PA and Cherry Hill, NJ, 2023—The Philadelphia Inquirer (based on an employee survey administered by Energage)
• BTI Client Service 30: Best of the Best in Client Service Delivery, 2023—The BTI Consulting Group, Inc.