Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP

WilmerHale was formed through a 2004 merger of Hale and Dorr (founded 1918) and Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (founded 1962). The firm's pension fund, structured as a corporate defined-benefit plan, serves its employee base across multiple US offices. Wealth origin for the pension is the firm's annual revenue from legal services, not external family capital. The pension fund's investment strategy focuses on buyout allocations, directing capital toward private equity funds and direct investments. WilmerHale maintains offices in Boston, Washington D.C., and New York, along with a global e-discovery subsidiary, WilmerHale DiscoverySolutions. The firm's corporate art collection includes a commissioned painting by artist Bosco Sodi at its D.C. headquarters. In the last two years, the firm has continued its AmLaw 100 ranking, reflecting stable revenue from its litigation and regulatory practices. Key partners include former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and former SEC enforcement director Stephanie Avakian, who lead the firm's litigation and regulatory practices. Those practices generate the revenue that funds the pension plan. The firm's professional network includes memberships in AmLaw 100 and Chambers USA, where it is consistently top-ranked for financial services and litigation. WilmerHale's pension fund stands apart from typical family offices because it is a corporate pension — a liability-driven structure whose payouts depend on the firm's ongoing law practice, not a family wealth dynasty. The fund's governance is tied to the partnership, with investment decisions made by firm-appointed trustees rather than a single family principal.