Greenberg, Traurig and Hoffman was founded in Miami, Florida, in 1967 by attorneys Larry J. Hoffman, Mel Greenberg, and Robert H. Traurig. The founding partners were Jewish and modeled their firm after Jewish-run transactional practices in New York City, during a time when it was difficult for Jews to fit in at “white shoe firms.” Traurig became well known for real estate development work in the Miami area, and the firm focused on hiring Jewish and Hispanic attorneys for much of its early history. Until the early 1990s, Greenberg was exclusively a South Florida law firm.In the 1970s, Greenberg, Traurig and Hoffman became Greenberg, Traurig, Hoffman, Lipoff, and Quentel with the addition of attorneys Norman H. Lipoff and Albert D. Quentel as named shareholders.Former Florida governor Reubin Askew was a named shareholder in the early 1980s while he also sought the Democratic nomination for president.
Larry Hoffman became managing partner of the firm in 1991, at which point the firm began to expand nationwide, beginning with the opening of an office in New York City.[7] In July 2009, Greenberg Traurig entered the London market, forming a new UK firm, operating as Greenberg Traurig Maher LLP.[8][9] Greenberg expanded to Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and Wilmington (Delaware) in 1999; in 2000, the firm doubled the size of its New York City office by acquiring the local office of the defunct Graham & James
The firm was named USA Law Firm of the Year by Chambers and Partners in 2007
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Greenberg Traurig was one of the top law firms contributing to federal candidates during the 2012 election cycle, donating $1.49 million, 50.2% to Democrats. By comparison, during that same period Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld donated $2.56, 66% to Democrats, while oil conglomerate ExxonMobil donated $2.66 million, 88% to Republicans.Since 1990, Greenberg Traurig contributed $11.2 million to federal campaigns.
In 2013 the firm launched a residency program to hirociates who are not recruited in traditional on-campus interviews by allowing them to spend up to a third of their billable hours in training for a one-year trial period.
Greenberg entered merger talks with UK-based Berwin Leighton Paisner in early 2016, but the firms ultimately decided not to merge.
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