News
29 Sep 2006
Frank Burch named "CEO of the Year" by SmartCEO magazine
Prestigious honor recognizes DLA Piper leader for progressive leadership and vision
Press Release
(BALTIMORE) - DLA Piper
US LLP today announced that Francis B. Burch, Jr., Joint Chief Executive Officer and a partner in the firm's Baltimore office, has been named
Baltimore SmartCEO magazine's "CEO of the Year" for his vision and leadership. The announcement was made at the magazine's fifth anniversary gala at the Marbury Building in Mt. Washington.
Burch was selected for the honor from a short list of highly accomplished Baltimore CEOs and joins the prestigious ranks of previous "CEO of the Year" winners, who include Steve Geppi of Diamond Comic Distributors, Jeff Briggs of Firaxis Games, Art Modell of the Baltimore Ravens and Kevin Plank of Under Armour.
DLA Piper was formed in early 2005 by a three-way merger between Baltimore-based Piper Rudnick LLP, where Burch served as co-chairman, Gray Cary Ware and Freidenrich LLP and DLA LLP. With Burch as joint CEO of the merged firm, DLA Piper has grown to more than 3,200 lawyers in 61 offices in 23 countries throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. The firm's presence is unmatched in the world's most important and emerging markets, positioning it to serve the complex legal needs of clients anywhere in the world.
"Seven years ago, Frank Burch recognized that the competitive landscape for business law firms was about to change radically and that he would need to change the structure of his law firm just as radically," explains David Callahan, executive editor of
Baltimore SmartCEO. "Frank recognized that every business problem is also an opportunity and his decisive leadership has now transformed this once relatively small Baltimore firm into one of the largest and most important law firms in the world. We believe that the story of how Frank Burch accomplished this astonishing transformation serves as a truly magnificent example of executive leadership and vision."
Added Lee I. Miller, Joint Chief Executive Officer of DLA Piper, "We are extremely proud that Frank has been recognized by
SmartCEO for his extraordinary leadership at the firm and in the Baltimore community. Frank is not only a great lawyer and CEO but also an exceptional person and I believe this honor reflects as much on his character as it does his outstanding accomplishments."
Burch is a partner in the litigation group and concentrates his practice on securities, corporate and business tort litigation. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the American Law Institute. He is listed in
Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business,
The Best Lawyers in America (for Business Litigation),
Marquis Who's Who in American Law,
Marquis Who's Who in America, and
Marquis Who's Who in the World.
He is actively involved in the Baltimore community. Burch is a trustee of Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Medicine, the University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation and The Jemicy School. He is past chairman of the board of The Greater Baltimore Committee, the University of Maryland School of Law and The Leadership of Greater Baltimore, and has served on the boards of the Baltimore Museum of Art, Calvert School in Baltimore and Dome Corporation.
Burch earned a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law with honors and an A.B. from Georgetown University.
About DLA PiperDLA Piper has 3,200 lawyers and 61 offices in 23 countries throughout the U.S., U.K., Continental Europe, Middle East and Asia. It has leading practices in commercial, corporate and finance, human resources, litigation, real estate, regulatory and legislative, and technology, media and communications.
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CONTACTS:
Francis B. Burch, Jr., Joint Chief Executive Officer, DLA Piper, 410.580.4040
Lee I. Miller, Joint Chief Executive Officer, DLA Piper, 312.368.4029
John Corey, Media Relations, GreenTarget Global Group, 312.252.4102