WilmerHale
An American multinational law firm formed in 2004 through the merger of Hale and Dorr and Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
WilmerHale is the trading name of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, an American multinational law firm with principal offices in Washington, D.C., and Boston and additional offices in the United States and Europe. The firm was created in 2004 when Boston-based Hale and Dorr merged with Washington-based Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. Its practice combines litigation, investigations, regulatory counseling, government affairs, intellectual property, antitrust, corporate transactions, securities, international trade, and public policy. The firm is particularly associated with complex disputes, appellate and Supreme Court advocacy, investigations of corporate conduct, and matters at the intersection of business and government. WilmerHale’s institutional history reaches back to two distinct legal traditions. Hale and Dorr was established in Boston in 1918 by Richard Hale, Dudley Huntington Dorr, Frank Grinnell, Roger Swaim, and John Maguire. The firm developed a strong reputation for trial work, public service, and legal aid. Partner Joseph Welch represented the United States Army during the 1954 Army–McCarthy hearings, while James D. St. Clair represented President Richard Nixon before the Supreme Court in United States v. Nixon in 1974. The firm also maintained a long relationship with Harvard Law School and its legal services programs. Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering was founded in Washington in 1962 by Lloyd Cutler, John Pickering, and Richard H. Wilmer. It became known for appellate advocacy, public law, civil rights, international matters, and regulatory work. Cutler later served as White House counsel to Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. The firm’s lawyers also participated in civil-rights initiatives and in efforts supporting South African lawyers working against apartheid. After the 2004 merger, the combined firm retained dual centers in Boston and Washington while developing a broader international platform. It later expanded its administrative infrastructure through a business-services center in Dayton, Ohio. WilmerHale has represented corporations, boards of directors, governments, public officials, and individuals in high-profile matters. Examples include investigations for Enron and WorldCom, Apple’s long-running patent litigation against Samsung, PerkinElmer’s acquisition of BioLegend, and OpenAI’s review of the events surrounding Sam Altman’s 2023 departure and reinstatement. The firm has also undertaken prominent pro bono and civil-rights work. Its lawyers have represented Guantanamo detainees, including the Algerian Six, and participated in litigation concerning voting maps and racial vote dilution. This work has periodically drawn political criticism, particularly when government officials objected to large firms representing terrorism suspects. WilmerHale’s practice profile therefore spans both major corporate mandates and constitutional, civil-rights, and public-interest representation. WilmerHale remains a prominent large law firm rather than a publicly traded company. It has been recognized by legal and workplace publications for litigation strength, pro bono work, diversity, attorney satisfaction, and public-policy capabilities. In 2025, the firm became the target of executive action by the second Trump administration because of its association with former special counsel Robert Mueller. A federal court later declared that executive order unconstitutional. The firm also closed its Beijing office in early 2025 after approximately two decades of operations there.
History
WilmerHale’s history is rooted in two Boston and Washington law firms that developed separately before merging in 2004. Hale and Dorr began in Boston in 1918, founded by Richard Hale, Dudley Huntington Dorr, Frank Grinnell, Roger Swaim, and John Maguire. The partnership was reorganized in early 1919 to include George W. Wightman and Reginald Heber Smith. Smith became a major figure in the firm and in the American legal-aid movement, serving as managing partner for approximately three decades and writing Justice and the Poor, an influential work on access to legal services. Hale and Dorr achieved national visibility through public and constitutional matters. Joseph Welch represented the United States Army during the 1954 Army–McCarthy hearings, assisted by James St. Clair and John Kimball Jr. In 1974, St. Clair represented President Richard Nixon before the Supreme Court in United States v. Nixon. The firm also had connections to Massachusetts politics: partner Paul Brountas chaired Michael Dukakis’s 1988 presidential campaign, and senior partner William Weld later became governor of Massachusetts. Its relationship with Harvard Law School and the Harvard Legal Services Center reinforced its reputation for public-interest work. Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering was founded in Washington in 1962 by former Cravath lawyers Lloyd Cutler and John Pickering together with Richard H. Wilmer. Cutler later served as White House counsel to Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and helped establish the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. During the 1980s he also helped initiate a legal-services and legal-education project supporting South African lawyers working to advance the rule of law during apartheid. The firm’s lawyers became active in government and public-law circles. C. Boyden Gray left the partnership between 1981 and 1993 to serve as White House counsel to Vice President and President George H. W. Bush, while Jamie Gorelick joined the 9/11 Commission in 2003. The two firms combined in 2004 as Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, with Boston and Washington serving as co-headquarters. The merger created a broad platform combining Hale and Dorr’s litigation and corporate capabilities with Wilmer Cutler & Pickering’s public-law, regulatory, international, and appellate practices. The firm subsequently used the shorter WilmerHale name in its public identity. In 2010, it moved its administrative support operations to a business-services campus in Dayton, Ohio. The center consolidated functions including finance, human resources, information technology, operations, document management, and practice management. WilmerHale’s post-merger work has included major corporate investigations, litigation, transactions, and public-interest representations. Its lawyers represented special investigative committees of Enron and WorldCom boards, producing reports that examined accounting and governance failures. The firm also represented Apple in its patent dispute with Samsung, a seven-year conflict that ended in settlement in 2018, and advised PerkinElmer on its 2021 acquisition of BioLegend. Its pro bono work has included representation of Guantanamo detainees and litigation challenging voting maps alleged to dilute Black voting strength. The firm has periodically attracted controversy because of the clients and causes it represents. In the Guantanamo matter, WilmerHale lawyers represented the Algerian Six. A 2007 Defense Department official criticized large firms handling detainee cases, prompting public debate over the professional and constitutional importance of pro bono representation. Seth Waxman later argued Boumediene v. Bush before the Supreme Court, which recognized habeas corpus rights for Guantanamo detainees. In the 2020s, WilmerHale continued to advise companies, boards, executives, and public institutions in sensitive investigations. It represented Caroline Ellison, assisted OpenAI with its review of the Sam Altman events, and handled other prominent corporate and individual matters. The firm announced a leadership transition in 2023, with Anjan Sahni succeeding Robert Novick and Susan Murley as co-managing partner in 2024. It closed its Beijing office in early 2025. Later that year, an executive order directed punitive measures against the firm because of its ties to Robert Mueller. WilmerHale challenged the action, and a federal judge ultimately declared the executive order unconstitutional.
- 2025
Beijing office closes
[1]The firm closes its Beijing office after roughly twenty years of operation in China.
- 2025
Executive order against the firm is invalidated
[1]A federal judge blocks portions of the executive action targeting WilmerHale and later declares the order unconstitutional.
- 2023
Leadership transition announced
[1]WilmerHale announces that Anjan Sahni will replace Robert Novick and Susan Murley as co-managing partner at the beginning of 2024.
- 2018
Apple–Samsung patent litigation settles
[1]After approximately seven years of litigation over smartphone design and utility patents, Apple and Samsung reach a settlement; WilmerHale represented Apple.
- 2010
Dayton business-services center opens
[1]The firm relocates and consolidates administrative support functions at a new campus in Dayton, Ohio.
- 2004
The predecessor firms merge
[1]Hale and Dorr and Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering combine to form Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, with Boston and Washington as co-headquarters.
- 1962
Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering is established
[1]Lloyd Cutler, John Pickering, and Richard H. Wilmer establish the Washington-based predecessor firm.
- 1918
Hale and Dorr is founded in Boston
[1]Richard Hale, Dudley Huntington Dorr, Frank Grinnell, Roger Swaim, and John Maguire establish the Boston law firm that later becomes one of WilmerHale’s predecessor practices.
Products and positioning
A high-end international law firm positioned around complex litigation, appellate advocacy, investigations, regulatory work, public policy, intellectual property, and significant pro bono representation.
Legal services
Complex litigation
WilmerHale represents companies, boards, governments, and individuals in high-stakes commercial, securities, antitrust, product, and public-law disputes. Its litigation practice includes trial strategy, multidisciplinary investigations, appellate work, and matters involving significant regulatory or reputational exposure.
Legal services
Appellate and Supreme Court advocacy
The firm has a long-standing appellate practice with experience before the Supreme Court and other federal appellate courts. Its lawyers have handled constitutional, administrative, national-security, intellectual-property, and commercial appeals, including the Guantanamo habeas corpus case Boumediene v. Bush.
Legal services
Corporate investigations
WilmerHale conducts internal investigations for boards, audit committees, companies, and public institutions. Its work for Enron and WorldCom investigative committees produced widely discussed reports examining transactions, accounting irregularities, management conduct, and board oversight.
Legal services
Regulatory and government investigations
The firm advises clients facing inquiries by agencies such as the SEC and other regulators, combining investigative defense with public-policy, enforcement, compliance, and congressional capabilities. Its work has included securities investigations involving public officials and corporate executives.
Legal services
Intellectual property
WilmerHale advises and litigates on patents, trademarks, technology, and other intellectual-property matters. A prominent mandate was its representation of Apple in the smartphone patent dispute with Samsung, which concluded in a 2018 settlement.
Legal services
Corporate transactions and M&A
The firm advises buyers, sellers, investors, and boards on mergers, acquisitions, strategic transactions, and related regulatory issues. In 2021, it represented PerkinElmer in the acquisition of life-sciences company BioLegend.
Legal services
Pro bono and civil-rights representation
Pro bono work has been central to both predecessor firms and the combined firm. Matters have included Guantanamo detainee representation, voting-rights litigation, racial-justice initiatives, and support for legal institutions addressing civil-rights and rule-of-law concerns.
Controversies
2025
Executive action targeting WilmerHale
The Trump administration issued an executive order imposing measures on WilmerHale because of the firm’s association with former special counsel Robert Mueller. The order sought to affect federal contracting involving clients, lawyers’ security clearances, and access to government facilities. WilmerHale challenged the action, and Judge Richard J. Leon ultimately ruled that the order was unconstitutional.
2007
Political criticism of Guantanamo pro bono representation
A Defense Department official criticized WilmerHale and other large firms for representing Guantanamo detainees. The criticism prompted a broader debate about whether lawyers should provide pro bono representation to terrorism suspects and about the constitutional role of counsel in detention cases.
2006
Confidential memorandum inadvertently disclosed in PepsiCo matter
During WilmerHale’s representation of PepsiCo in an SEC investigation related to the departure of the company’s general counsel, a lawyer inadvertently emailed a confidential memorandum to a Wall Street Journal reporter, making details of the investigation public.
Brand decisions
2025
Closure of Beijing officeStrategyBackground
After approximately two decades of operations in China, the firm reassessed its direct office footprint.
Action taken
WilmerHale closed its Beijing office in early 2025.
Aftermath
The closure reduced the firm’s physical presence in mainland China, although the available reference does not specify the firm’s subsequent China strategy.
2023
Leadership successionStrategyBackground
The firm announced a change in its co-managing-partner structure.
Action taken
WilmerHale selected former federal prosecutor Anjan Sahni to replace Robert Novick and Susan Murley beginning in 2024.
Aftermath
Sahni became the firm’s reported co-managing partner at the start of 2024.
2021
PerkinElmer acquisition of BioLegendM&ABackground
PerkinElmer sought to expand its life-sciences platform through the purchase of BioLegend.
Action taken
WilmerHale represented PerkinElmer in the acquisition.
Aftermath
The transaction was described as PerkinElmer’s largest acquisition at that time and was intended to expand capabilities in life-sciences research.
Announced transaction value. $5.25 billion (2021)
2010
Creation of Dayton administrative-services centerStrategyBackground
The firm sought to improve efficiency and consolidate nonlegal support functions after the merger.
Action taken
WilmerHale relocated administrative operations to a new Dayton, Ohio, campus serving finance, human resources, information technology, operations, document management, and practice management.
Aftermath
The center brought together existing employees and new Dayton-area staff and was intended to reduce operating costs and improve administrative coordination.
2004
Merger of Hale and Dorr with Wilmer, Cutler & PickeringM&ABackground
Two established firms with complementary strengths in litigation, corporate law, public policy, regulation, and international matters sought to create a larger national and international platform.
Action taken
The firms combined to form Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, later promoted publicly as WilmerHale, while retaining principal centers in Boston and Washington.
Aftermath
The merger created the firm’s modern structure and broadened its ability to serve clients across disputes, transactions, public law, and regulatory matters.
Recent events
- 2025
WilmerHale closes Beijing office[1]
Other
The firm ended its Beijing operations after about twenty years, reducing its direct presence in mainland China.
- 2023
WilmerHale announces leadership transition[1]
Leadership change
The firm announced that former federal prosecutor Anjan Sahni would succeed co-managing partners Robert Novick and Susan Murley at the start of 2024.
- 2023
WilmerHale represents OpenAI in review of Sam Altman events[1]
Other
OpenAI retained WilmerHale to conduct an external review of the circumstances surrounding the November 2023 removal and subsequent reinstatement of chief executive Sam Altman.
- 2022
WilmerHale represents Caroline Ellison[1]
Lawsuit · Other
Former Alameda Research chief executive Caroline Ellison retained WilmerHale partner Stephanie Avakian as her lead attorney.
Sources1 sources
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