Brown Rudnick LLP

Brown Rudnick is an international law firm with roots in post-war 1940s Boston and New York City. From the beginning, our lawyers and business professionals have demonstrated a remarkable blend of entrepreneurialism and collaboration.

Rome, Brown, Rudnick & Freed was founded in Boston by four prominent lawyers – Charles Rome, Matthew Brown, Alford Rudnick and Hirsh Freed – who in 1948 had not been welcomed into the partnerships of other leading firms because they were Jewish. Two years earlier, Harris Berlack, Carlos Israels and James Liberman founded Berlack Israels & Liberman in New York City, facing similar promotion limitations common to the era. These two firms grew independently and steadily for more than 50 years before combining in 2001 as Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels LLP.

These founding partners gained reputations through outstanding client representation, community contributions, and developing generations of associates who themselves became partners for the duration of their careers. Both Charles Rome and Matthew Brown served on the bench, and both Brown and Carlos Israels were involved in the development and promotion of the Uniform Commercial Code, a groundbreaking effort to promote commerce by updating state laws throughout the U.S. Harris Berlack helped write the Investment Company Act of 1940. Hirsh Freed was an advisor to John F. Kennedy before and during his presidency.

In the ensuing years, the Boston-based legacy firm became Brown Rudnick Freed & Gesmer in 1958, following a combination with Gesmer & Geller. The combined entity developed a broad array of commercial and personal legal services, all the while continuing its close connection to government affairs. Expanding further into the New England legal market, we opened offices in Connecticut and Rhode Island, adding high-ranking officials from the state legislatures and governor’s office. With this growth, the Firm also furthered its efforts to recruit, develop, and retain a diverse group of lawyers and professional staff. Among our first women partners are Barbara Lenk, who later ascended to serve as a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and become the first openly gay person in that court’s 300-year history, and Elizabeth Ritvo, whom we honor with our annual Ritvo Equity & Inclusion Awards.

By the late 1990’s, Brown Rudnick Freed & Gesmer had grown into one of the largest and most successful law firms in New England, and expanded to London in 1997. In 2001, its partners provided seed funding for the Brown Rudnick Center for the Public Interest and the Brown Rudnick Charitable Foundation with substantial fees earned from its successful prosecution of claims against the tobacco industry on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The foundation was part of a groundbreaking approach to coordinating charitable giving and community service with the provision of pro bono legal services to individuals and organizations that cannot afford access to justice. We continue to annually recognize a lawyer and a staff member with our M. Robert Dushman Pro Bono and Community Service Awards, named for our late partner Bob Dushman, a prominent First Amendment lawyer.

Over the last 25 years, the combined firm has thrived with full and easy partner/practice integration, rapidly realized profits from practice group collaboration, and the continued development of new lawyers and a business professional staff that is revered in the industry.

Strategic growth in Washington, D.C. since 2005 – together with the 2013 combination with the Orange County, California-based Rus, Miliband & Smith – has continued to fuel and expand the services available to our clients and professional development opportunities for our lawyers. Today, Brown Rudnick is a recognized leader in several practice and industry areas, such as corporate restructuring, technology, white collar defense, international disputes, intellectual property and life sciences. The Firm continues to grow strategically and show its entrepreneurial, collaborative spirit that led to its creation.