Robert M. Dell is the Chairman of the Executive Committee and Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins LLP and is resident in the firm's San Francisco office. During his tenure as Chairman, Latham has experienced tremendous success and has grown from 598 lawyers practicing in 11 offices to its current size of more than 2,100 lawyers in 27 offices, including more than 500 lawyers in Europe and Asia. The firm is now one of the 10 largest law firms in the world.
Mr. Dell started his law practice in Chicago at a litigation boutique firm which was acquired by Latham in 1982. In 1990, he relocated to San Francisco to launch a new office for Latham and serve as the managing partner of that office. In 1994, when he was 42 years old, Mr. Dell was elected by the partners as Latham's firm-wide Chairman and Managing Partner. He was subsequently reelected to a second five-year term in 2000 and a third five-year term in 2005.
As Latham's Chairman, Mr. Dell has been instrumental in the growth of the firm's pro bono program. Through consistent and focused efforts to encourage pro bono work by the firm's attorneys, Latham has become one of the largest providers of pro bono services in the world, contributing the equivalent of more than $100 million in pro bono hours in 2008 and bringing the total value of the firm's pro bono work since 2000 to over $400 million. In addition, he has been active in the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco, serving on its board for several years and currently serving as Executive Vice Chair of its Board. He has also served on the Board of the Bar Association of San Francisco.
Prior to entering the practice of law, Mr. Dell served as a law clerk to the Honorable Wilbur F. Pell, Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.