Jay Rothman
Chairman and chief executive officer, Foley & Lardner LLP
Foley & Lardner this year is celebrating its 175th anniversary—which makes it older than the state of Wisconsin. Its founders, Asahel Finch and William Pitt Lynde, helped establish Wisconsin as a state in 1848 and Lynde was even an early Milwaukee mayor. The Milwaukee-based general practice law firm, now the largest in Wisconsin, has grown to about 900 attorneys in 19 offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
In a recent interview with BizTimes Milwaukee managing editor Molly Dill, Foley chairman, CEO, partner and business lawyer Jay Rothman discussed the company’s efforts to look to the future.
Foxconn Technology Group opportunity
“There will be suppliers that will relocate here if everything goes forward as planned, and I think that creates opportunities for existing Wisconsin companies that can be suppliers. It also creates opportunities for new businesses moving into the state. You look at the education infrastructure of the state, both at the university level and at the technical school level, there is a lot of that infrastructure already here. I think it will be a challenge certainly if those jobs ramp up as quickly as they’re predicted to ramp up and it’s going to put a strain on other employers. I think over time with the resources and the great investment that the state has made in education, I think will serve it well to prepare people to go into those roles.”
Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial climate
“I think you continually focus on the things that can help entrepreneurs. One is with the great university systems and the amount of technology being spun off, can we do an even better job than we have right now in terms of commercializing that technology? Are we providing the support to entrepreneurs? I have sensed a substantial change over time in terms of the entrepreneurial climate here and I’m hopeful that it continues to grow. If you go back to some of the history of the state and some of the history of our firm, there are a lot of great entrepreneurs: Harley-Davidson, the Johnson family in Racine, all of these businesses that grew up over time.”
M&A market
“The market remains strong. I think valuations continue to hold at a high level. Money is still readily available in the marketplace and there are a lot of deals getting done. Absent some hiccup in the economy, we don’t see that slowing down.” ν
