King & Spalding LLP

Throughout its 140-year history, King & Spalding has expanded far from its Southern roots to open offices across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, approaching the number of offices established by West Coast and Northeastern firms. With stellar litigation and regulatory practices, the firm’s long-time clients include public and private companies across many industries. 

A King Rises

In 1885, Alex C. King and Jack J. Spalding founded what would eventually become Atlanta’s largest law firm. In the early years, the firm offered extensive services to the railroad industry. Like true royalty, King & Spalding was rich in connections. In 1918, King was appointed U.S. Solicitor General, and in the 1940s, Spalding’s son Hughes forged many of the firm’s key alliances, including those with The Coca-Cola Company and Trust Company Bank.

In the late 20th century and into the early 21st century, the firm began a series of expansions that made it into the global firm that it is today, first opening shop in DC, followed by New York and Houston. The firm has continued to add office locations growth throughout the United States and overseas. It now boasts 23 offices in 10 countries.

Holistic Practice

With an eye toward the increasing multidisciplinary nature of today’s legal practice, King & Spalding is organized into three large practice groups: Trial & Global Disputes (litigation); Corporate, Finance & Investments (transactional), and Government Matters (regulatory/investigations). The firm counsels clients across myriad industries, including automotive, transportation, and mobility; energy; financial services; food and beverage; higher education; technology; life sciences; and healthcare. 

The firm’s robust Trial & Global Disputes trial and global disputes practice—with more than 450 litigators around the world—is among the top 25 in Vault’s General Commercial Litigation ranking. The firm is particularly adept at cross-border work and is known for its strong international arbitration and litigation practices. Indeed, the firm has worked on arbitrations in more than 140 countries, and its practice is top ranked by The Global Arbitration Review.

King & Spalding’s Government Matters team includes former leaders at the Department of Justice, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Commerce, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Bank of England, U.K’s Financial Reporting Council, and World Trade Organization. The firm is among the top 25 in Vault’s White Collar & Internal Investigations ranking, has been honored twice by Law360 as White Collar Practice Group of the Year, and is one of Global Investigation Review’s Top 25 Firms for Investigations.

The firm’s Corporate, Finance & Investments team includes more than 500 lawyers in 23 offices across the world and helps clients execute complex, high-value transactions. These attorneys advise on a full range of domestic and cross-border transactions, including finance and restructuring, capital markets, M&A and private equity, investment funds, real estate, construction, energy and infrastructure projects, tax, and global human capital. In the past four years, its Global Finance Team has closed more than 1,500 finance transactions totaling over $400 billion in aggregate financing. Its corporate team handled over 300 M&A transactions in 2022 and 55 deals over $1 billion in the past five years. The Projects and Construction Team has handled over $500 billion in construction deals. The firm’s transactional teams are regularly recognized by legal publications; for example, 27 practices and 54 lawyers have been ranked by Chambers USA 2022, and the Projects and Construction Team was Law360’s Practice Group of the Year in 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Making Connections

The lawyers at King & Spalding are encouraged to network with each other, and the firm fosters relationships through Connect K&S, which is an office visit program through which associates travel to other offices on the firm’s dime. Since matters are assigned across offices, this program enables associates to strengthen relationships with coworkers in other locations.

• Secured a complete defense verdict in a three-week jury trial for Boehringer Ingelheim in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois in the first trial regarding claims that its widely used heartburn medication Zantac increases the risk of cancer. 
• Secured a landmark $1.9 billion award for Refinería de Cartagena (Reficar) in an ICC arbitration against the contractor relating to delays and cost overruns involving a state-of-the-art refinery in Colombia – one of the largest construction projects in Latin America.
• Currently representing Red Lobster and 14 of its affiliates in their voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed in the Middle District of Florida (Orlando division), one of the largest and most high-profile filings of the year.
• Conducted an independent investigation into allegations of abuse in the National Women’s Soccer League, culminating in a 172-page report and a series of wide-ranging recommendations to transform women’s soccer. As the Wall Street Journal reported at the time, the K&S "full report is one of the most exhaustive examinations ever of misconduct in one of the nation's most popular participation sports, particularly for girls." 
• Advised, from project inception to financial close, on all aspects of the world’s largest green hydrogen and green ammonia production facility, NEOM, a USD8.4bn megaproject in Oxagon, Saudi Arabia.

• Best Law Firm of the Year, American Lawyer, 2023
• Attorney of the Year, Sally Yates, American Lawyer 2023
• Client Service A-Team, BTI Consulting, 2024
• International Arbitration Practice Group of the Year, Construction Practice Group of the Year, Energy Practice Group of the Year, Law360, 2023
• Top score of 100 percent in the 2023 - 2024 Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Annual Corporate Equality Index and recognized with the HRC’s Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion.