For Drinker Biddle & Reath, 2007 was a year of investment and transformation. A year its leaders called historic for the nearly 160-year-old firm.

The firm’s gross revenue and headcount each grew by more than 40 percent after a Jan. 1, 2007, merger with Chicago-based Gardner Carton & Douglas. The combined firm then created a new practice group management system that is more industry-focused.