Small enough to provide specific attention, yet big enough to have a wide breadth of expertise.
- Chambers USA
History
Goldberg Kohn was founded in 1976 by four lawyers who came from a well-known, midsized Chicago law firm with the express goal of creating a firm that would provide legal services on par with the largest and most respected firms. The founders aimed to create a working environment based on mutual respect, support and trust, and which was completely devoid of internal competition and personal empire building. The theory was that by focusing their energy on providing the best possible legal services, rather than on internal politics, the firm would attract and retain superb lawyers who truly enjoy the practice of law as well as provide a welcome change for clients weary of the infighting that is characteristic of so many other law firms; politics that add unnecessary cost and inefficiencies to the handling of legal matters.
Today, almost 50 years later, those ideals are firmly intact and remain the greatest source of Goldberg Kohn's success.
During the early years, the firm grew primarily by recruiting lawyers from large, well-established firms to join a noble, if risky, experiment. Soon, the firm achieved name recognition at the top law schools in the nation and attracted outstanding graduates who have gone on to become Goldberg Kohn's first generation of attorneys nurtured from summer associate to principal. Although Goldberg Kohn continues to rely on law school recruitment to fuel a portion of its growth, the firm is also a magnet for young lawyers who have practiced for a few years at top-tier firms and recognize Goldberg Kohn as a supportive environment, a home, where they can practice law for the rest of their professional careers.
In turn, Goldberg Kohn has grown an institutional client base worthy of the largest, most elite law firms, while also preserving the same idealistic and collegial atmosphere that is the hallmark of the firm.
