Vedder

With more than 370 attorneys, Vedder has offices in Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, and Washington, DC. Primarily known for its corporate practice—especially its expertise in transportation finance—the firm also holds its own in the labor and employment and litigation practice spheres. 

Keeping Clients for Life 

Originally known as Vedder, Price, Kaufman & Kammholz, P.C., Chicago-based firm Vedder was founded in 1952 and today extends far beyond the Midwest. While continuing to grow its global reach, Vedder takes special pride in servicing its clients for the long haul.

Reputation for Transportation

Vedder has a broad corporate practice that spans areas including banking and finance, mergers and acquisitions, and investment services. Though its clients cover multiple industries, the firm is arguably best known for its transportation finance practice that encompasses industries from sea to sky, including the aviation, aerospace, railroad, and marine sectors. Notably, the firm has navigated billion-dollar aviation deals such as Air Canada’s $1.25 billion refinancing and Castlelake’s securitization deal backed by $1.2 billion of aircraft. A Vedder shareholder even authored the “how-to” on aircraft finance by writing the Commercial Aircraft Finance Handbook.

Beyond its corporate practice, the firm has a prestigious labor and employment practice that assists a wide breadth of clients—from large corporations to small businesses and everything in between—on issues ranging from wage and hour litigation to executive compensation to international employment law. And the firm’s litigation practice is no less varied, tackling disputes about everything from contracts to white collar crimes in both trial and appellate courts and before governmental agencies. 

Emphasis on Inclusion

Vedder has an admirable portfolio of diversity initiatives. The firm’s “WAVES” (Women at Vedder Empowering Success) initiative aims to empower female associates in their career growth through networking and educational opportunities. The firm also offers a New Parent Attorney Mentoring program, which provides support for soon-to-be and new parents navigating change in their personal and professional lives, as well as Vedder Pride and Vedder Diverse—affinity groups for LGBTQ+ and ethnically diverse attorneys. In addition to these in-house initiatives, Vedder sponsors a lengthy list of diversity-focused organizations.