LAWYERS:

Our associates experience working with some of the finest lawyers in the profession. We are especially proud of our 56 lawyers recognized in "The Best Lawyers in America (2007)" in the areas of Antitrust, Banking, Bankruptcy, Commercial Litigation, Construction, Corporate Law, Creditor's Rights, Employee Benefits, Environmental, First Amendment Law, Franchise, Health Care, Intellectual Property, International Trade, Labor and Employment, Land Use & Zoning Law, Levereged Buyouts & Private Equity, Mergers and Acquisitions, Natural Resources, Non-Profit/Charity, Non-White-Collar Criminal Defense, Personal Injury Litigation, Real Estate, Tax, Trusts and Estates, Water and White-Collar Criminal Defense.

PRACTICE AREAS:

With over 50 practice areas spanning the full range of our clients' needs, Blackwell Sanders offers new lawyers exceptional options for practicing law. But depth is just as important as breadth when it comes to a firm's practice areas. In their various specialties, our lawyers develop deep expertise and enjoy the satisfaction of challenging and sophisticated law practice.

For example, in the last five years, we handled over $50 billion in mergers, acquisitions, debt financing, and public and private securities offerings. We have performed intellectual property work in more than 200 countries and territories around the globe. Our trial lawyers successfully defend and prosecute commercial litigation cases across the country. Our labor and employment lawyers successfully defend an average of 50 employment lawsuits each year by summary judgment, dismissal or trial.

EARLY EXPERIENCE:

Our associates waste no time before becoming directly involved in substantial, meaningful work:

"A few months into my first year, I was the lone associate to work on a multimillion dollar transaction for the firm's largest client. I worked directly with the head of our corporate department and the client. I learned more about the practice of corporate law on that one transaction than I did in three years of law school."

"In a multi-party, $40 million lawsuit arising out of the insolvency of a major life insurance company, I actively participated as a first-year lawyer in the preparation for and the taking of depositions of key officers, directors and controlling owners of the defunct insurer."

"I helped close my first deal after only three months on the job. Although I had been working closely with an experienced partner throughout the transaction, he allowed me to take the lead on the day the deal closed. Guiding the parties through the closing of this multi-million dollar stock purchase transaction was an invaluable 'real world' experience that I never expected so early in my career."

"By the end of my first year, I had taken a case from complaint to trial as a first chair with a partner by my side as a second chair - isn't that an interesting reversal!"

CLIENTS:

You can tell a lot about a law firm by the clients it serves. We are proud of our clients and also of the range of businesses and industries in our client base.

Top clients include Sisters of Charity Health System, Aquila, Waddell & Reed Financial, School District of Kansas City, Missouri, NovaStar Financial, Saint Lukes Health System, Emerson Electric Company, Lester E. Cox Medical Centers, Koch Industries, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Commerce Bancshares, Regions Bank, N.A., H & R Block, Tortoise Capital Advisors, Tyco International, A.G. Edwards and Raytheon Aircraft.