The Early Years
In the early years, Baker & McKenzie embraced the novel idea that qualified lawyers who were not US nationals should be equal partners. We also developed innovative ideas for tax planning that would spur the Firm's growth across Europe and South America.
Here are some highlights from our early years:
1949
Baker & McKenzie is formed. It has four lawyers and a secretary. First-year fees total US$75,000. Just over 50 years later, Baker & McKenzie will have over 3,000 lawyers worldwide and revenues of more than US$1 billion.
1955
Russell Baker returns to the University of Chicago to complete his law degree. He had not received enough credits in his earlier studies for a J.D. before taking the bar examination for economic reasons. (At the time, a degree was not required for bar admittance.) He receives his J.D. with the much younger Law School Class of '55.
1955
Baker & McKenzie begins its first operation outside the United States – in Venezuela. Baker's son Donald moves to Caracas to work with Ramon Diaz, a Harvard Law graduate who two years later will become the first of many non-American partners in the emerging global Firm.
1957
Six European nations sign the Treaty of Rome, and the Firm opens an office in Brussels, capital city of the European Community. It is part of a rapid growth period for the Firm that will see the opening of 17 new offices, including eight in Europe, in a decade.
1958
Zurich becomes the Firm's sixth location. Thanks to generous tax treaties, its roster of corporate clients will grow six-fold over the next seven years, even as a furor erupts in the United States over Baker & McKenzie's tax advice.
1960
Over the objections of the IRS and the US Treasury, the courts uphold Baker & McKenzie's strategies for using Western Hemisphere Trade Corporations and foreign-base companies provisions to help companies reduce tax liabilities. Two years later, Congress steps in to block the use of foreign-base companies. But increasingly complex tax laws create more work.
1961
Faced with limited prospects for advancement due to an English law prohibiting more than 20 partners to a firm, Terence Lane joins Baker & McKenzie to open the Firm's ninth location worldwide. London eventually will become the Firm's largest office.
1962
A leading international trademark lawyer is recruited to the Firm. Horst Werder helps begin an Intellectual Property practice, a natural addition to services being offered to US companies beginning to do more business abroad. Early clients included Estée Lauder Cosmetics, whom the Firm still represents today.
1962
John McKenzie dies suddenly, of a heart attack, at 49. By now, the Firm has 85 lawyers in 13 locations worldwide. Total fees are US$2.5 million.
1963
The Firm expands to the Asia-Pacific region with the start of operations in Tokyo and, in 1964, Sydney. Today, the Asia-Pacific practice is widely considered among the best in the rapidly developing region.
1964
The Firm celebrates its 15th anniversary at the 1964 Annual Meeting in Chicago. Forty-nine partners attend. Total cost is US$30,000. Two years later, the first Annual Meeting outside the US will be held in London.