Our friend and former chair, Bob Helman, a giant in the legal profession, has died following an extended illness. Bob turned 90 this year and had many enduring friendships with Mayer Brown colleagues.
Bob practiced law at Mayer Brown for nearly 57 years before retiring in January 2024. His time at the Firm included serving for a decade and a half as chair, leading what was then known as Mayer, Brown & Platt at a pivotal time. During his time at the helm, the US Firm grew from 300 lawyers to more than 800. From 1984 to 1991, Bob and Leo Herzel took over as co-chairs of the Management Committee following the failure of the Firm’s then-largest client, Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company. Together they steered the Firm through those tough years. By the end of Bob’s tenure, Mayer Brown was a stronger, larger and more diversified law firm.
Although he began his career as a utilities regulatory lawyer, Bob would become one of the most highly regarded corporate lawyers in the United States. His practice included corporate governance work and transformational M&A transactions for many of the largest publicly held companies. His successes on behalf of clients are legion, including his representation of Santa Fe Pacific in a merger that created the largest North American rail network. Bob also was dedicated to serving pro bono clients and the community at large, including helping establish Legal Aid Chicago to provide free legal services to indigent people. In Bob’s honor, the Firm established the Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professorship at Northwestern University School of Law, where Bob earned his J.D. and was named to the Order of the Coif.
Among Bob’s innumerable achievements, we are also indebted to him for mentoring and training many of our leading lawyers, building a practice platform from which we all benefit to this day and instilling in us the values that define Mayer Brown.
Our deepest condolences go to the entire Helman family.
