Throughout its history, Mayer Brown has grown to meet client needs by adding offices in strategically located business centers. Besides the founding office in Chicago, offices are located in the following cities:

• Washington — This office opened in 1970 to help United Airlines with its regulatory needs in the years before the airline industry was deregulated. Now with more than 170 lawyers, the office has expanded its regulatory work while also offering top-tier practices in such areas as antitrust, outsourcing, government relations, trade access, government contracts, and tax. The Washington office also anchors our US Supreme Court & Appellate practice, the largest, most experienced, and most successful in the US.

• New York — Global law practices require a significant presence in New York, an epicenter of the US and world financial markets. The New York office opened in 1978, and has grown into one of the few non-indigenous offices in that city doing top-tier work. Today, with nearly 200 lawyers in litigation, leasing, corporate, workouts, and structured finance, our New York attorneys form the largest "home-grown" office of any law practice not headquartered in New York.

• Houston — In 1982, the firm opened an office in Houston to serve the worldwide needs of oil and gas clients. This office has expanded into real estate, finance, corporate, litigation, arbitration, and bankruptcy, and is a truly global practice, advising clients from such places as South America, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the People's Republic of China.

• Los Angeles — The needs of our banking clients drove the opening of our Los Angeles office in 1985. The office has evolved into a two-way mirror reflecting global developments both to the West and the East. The office’s 60 lawyers work in such areas as real estate, finance, litigation, IP, environmental, biotech, and bankruptcy.

• Brussels — Antitrust regulation is no longer defined by national boundaries. Founded in 1992, the Brussels office is a key component of our European Union practice, practicing competition law focusing upon 20 different industries.

• Berlin — The firm opened an office in Berlin in 1993, allowing our lawyers to draw on local knowledge of the German market and practices in order to better serve our German and European clients on a wide-range of complex legal issues.

• Cologne — The Cologne office was opened in 1994. Lawyers here advise on complex corporate and politically significant cross-border transactions, with particular strengths in the telecom, publishing, automotive, and pharmaceutical sectors.

• Charlotte — In 1998, Mayer, Brown & Platt merged with a prominent boutique tax and litigation firm in Charlotte — a city that has emerged as the second largest banking market in the United States. Building on our strong relationships with Bank of America, First Union/Wachovia, and other financial services giants headquartered there, the Charlotte practice has increased from seven to 40 lawyers and was once named the fastest-growing law office in North Carolina.

• Palo Alto — The firm’s pioneer office in Silicon Valley works in tandem with our practice-wide corporate and technology groups, providing start-ups and established companies with corporate, tax, finance, and litigation advice, as well as strong regulatory and legislative ties to Washington DC.

• Paris — Mayer, Brown & Platt took another decisive step in January of 2001 when it merged with a small but highly respected Parisian firm, Lambert & Lee. Building on inherent strengths in corporate, tax, finance, and real estate, the merger provided local knowledge for our French clients and took us one step closer to being a full-service European law practice.

• Frankfurt — In April 2001, Mayer, Brown & Platt merged with the Frankfurt office of Gaedertz Rechtsanwälte — one of the "Big Ten" German commercial law firms. In Germany, corporate demand for legal services is much greater than supply. With 45 lawyers, this office is well-regarded for its IP, corporate, and bio/pharma practices, and is one of few law offices servicing both foreign and domestic corporations in Germany.

• London — In 2002, Mayer, Brown & Platt combined with Rowe & Maw, forming Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP. Mayer, Brown & Platt’s existing London office joined the larger Rowe & Maw office.

• Hong Kong — The firm’s Hong Kong office opened in 2007, focusing on securitization, structured finance, M&A, and private equity transactions for local Asian companies seeking advice regarding the United States and Europe, and to foreign companies operating in Asia.

• São Paulo — Having served clients in Brazil and throughout Latin America for more than 15 years, the firm opened an office in São Paulo in 2007. The move recognizes that city’s importance to the global economy and represents a significant step forward in the firm’s global growth plan.

• Alliances — To ensure that clients have access to top-tier legal services in geographic business centers where a firm office may not be warranted, Mayer Brown has established alliances with leading independent law firms. The relationship permits formalized cooperation, client development, and referral arrangements between the two firms. Presently, there are alliances with law firms in Italy, Spain, and Mexico City, and a representative office in Beijing.