Baker & McKenzie | Partner | Chicago
Thomas Doyle is a partner in Baker & McKenzie’s Chicago office and chair of that law firm’s North American Litigation Practice.
Doyle is responsible for the professional development of young, talented, trial lawyers. “Law firms, like other professional service firms, depend almost entirely on their management of human capital,” Doyle said.
“Our brand is only as good as the integrity, trustworthiness and abilities of our practicing lawyers. Their skill sets are our firm’s ‘products.’ Developing those lawyers is the paramount management mission for our organization in the long-term, so that they can better and more competitively serve our clients.”
Doyle has partnered with lawyers from all over the world and learned to appreciate different world views. He relishes the challenges and opportunities presented by client problems that involve the intersection of at least two different legal systems. Baker & McKenzie’s offices in over 40 countries have enabled Doyle to practice law in a truly global enterprise. He has participated in major changes in foreign legal systems, from the export of U.S. litigation habits to Europe, to the development of antitrust law in China.
Doyle feels his time at Baylor prepared him for both law school and a legal career. “Economics is great training for the law, as economics is probably the single greatest explanation for most legal rules,” Doyle says. “I never stopped using what I learned at Hankamer. As manager of a national practice, I am very much involved in the way our profession conducts its business.”
Baylor influenced Doyle in many positive ways. He received enormous help and mentoring from professors including Lee Polk, Herbert Reynolds, Tom Kelly (his honors thesis supervisor) and Tom Potts. Doyle is very thankful for the personal relationships he had with each one and believes the easy access to such relationships remains one of Baylor’s greatest advantages.
“Finding and working with good mentors is a learned skill and a very important one in later life,” Doyle states. “Learn that skill early, at Baylor, and it will serve you well for a lifetime.”
One of Doyle’s daughters is attending Baylor as a freshman this fall.