Snell & Wilmer

Snell & Wilmer
Name	Snell & Wilmer
Founded	1938
Headquarters	Phoenix, Arizona
Founders	Earl E. Snell; Mark Wilmer
Offices	Multiple U.S. offices
Num attorneys	Approximately 400 (varies)
Practice areas	Business, Litigation, Real Estate, Labor and Employment, Intellectual Property, Bankruptcy, Healthcare

Snell & Wilmer is an American law firm founded in 1938 with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. The firm has grown into a multi-office practice representing corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals in complex matters across the United States and internationally. Its work spans corporate transactions, litigation, regulatory counsel, and industry-specific representation.

History

The firm traces its origins to Phoenix in the late 1930s amid the Roosevelt administration and the New Deal era, contemporaneous with figures such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Earl Warren, Henry Luce, Jesse Owens and institutions like the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Early practice connected with Arizona development, linking to personalities such as Barry Goldwater and events like the growth of Phoenix, Arizona and the Grand Canyon National Park tourism economy. Through mid‑century expansion the firm engaged with banking clients connected to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and infrastructure projects tied to the Bureau of Reclamation and the Interstate Highway System. Later decades saw interactions with energy companies associated with the Department of Energy, mining interests around Yavapai County, Arizona, and southwestern water law matters implicating the Colorado River Compact and the Arizona v. California litigation. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the firm opened offices aligning with commercial hubs such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Salt Lake City and Tucson, responding to corporate clientele including connections to Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chevron Corporation and technology companies in the orbit of Silicon Valley.

Practice Areas

The firm practices across transactional and litigation disciplines, serving sectors represented by entities such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Walmart, Amazon (company), and Toyota Motor Corporation. Key areas include corporate and securities work involving the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange; mergers and acquisitions comparable to deals in the world of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan Chase; real estate practices paralleling large developments like those by CBRE Group and Hines Interests; intellectual property matters akin to disputes handled by firms representing Intel Corporation, Microsoft, and Apple Inc.; labor and employment counseling facing agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and adjudications related to the National Labor Relations Board; healthcare regulatory work tied to standards of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and litigation involving health systems such as Mayo Clinic and Banner Health; environmental and energy work analogous to cases involving ExxonMobil, BP, and renewable projects like those under the Bureau of Land Management. The firm also handles bankruptcy and restructuring matters reminiscent of high‑profile cases under the United States Bankruptcy Court.

Offices and Locations

Office expansion paralleled regional economic centers and major legal markets like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Reno, Tucson, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Albuquerque. These offices enable cross‑jurisdictional representation involving state supreme courts such as the Arizona Supreme Court, Nevada Supreme Court, Colorado Supreme Court, and federal circuits including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. International work has connected with counterpart firms in Mexico City, Toronto, London, and Tokyo through global networks and transactional alliances reminiscent of those used by multinational firms serving clients like Coca‑Cola and Procter & Gamble.

Notable Cases and Clients

The firm has represented financial institutions in matters comparable to those faced by Bank of America and Citigroup and corporate clients akin to Uber Technologies, Lyft, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines in regulatory and commercial disputes. It has handled intellectual property and technology disputes resembling matters involving IBM, Oracle Corporation, and Cisco Systems; construction and real estate litigation paralleling projects by Bechtel and Turner Construction; energy and natural resource cases involving issues similar to those before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and parties like NextEra Energy and NV Energy; and healthcare matters for providers and insurers in the mold of UnitedHealth Group and Anthem, Inc.. The firm’s bankruptcy and restructuring practice has engaged in chapter 11 proceedings comparable to cases involving Toys "R" Us and Chesapeake Energy.

Attorneys and Leadership

Leadership over time has included managing partners and practice chairs who interact with bar organizations such as the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Arizona, the Nevada State Bar, and local bar associations in Los Angeles County Bar Association and Denver Bar Association. Attorneys from the firm have served on boards and commissions alongside leaders from institutions like Harvard University, Stanford University, Arizona State University, and University of California, Los Angeles. Senior lawyers have been recognized by entities like the American College of Trial Lawyers, the National Association of Corporate Directors, and have argued before courts including the United States Supreme Court and federal appeals panels such as the Ninth Circuit.

Community Involvement and Pro Bono

The firm participates in pro bono initiatives that mirror partnerships with organizations such as Legal Aid Society, ACLU, Habitat for Humanity, United Way, and local nonprofits addressing homelessness and veterans’ services like Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans. Its pro bono docket has included immigration matters involving procedures under U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and asylum claims touching statutes like the Immigration and Nationality Act, civil rights cases invoking statutes enforced by the Civil Rights Division (United States Department of Justice), and community development projects tied to local housing authorities and municipal entities such as city councils in Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Awards and Rankings

The firm and individual lawyers have been listed in rankings by organizations such as Chambers and Partners, The American Lawyer, Best Lawyers, U.S. News & World Report, and have earned recognition from trade groups like the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and industry publications aligned with Law360 and Bloomberg Law. Awards include distinctions at the state level from bar associations, corporate counsel awards akin to those given by National Law Journal, and inclusion in peer‑reviewed honors such as the Martindale‑Hubbell ratings.

Category:Law firms based in the United States