Mayer Brown is an international law firm head-quartered in Chicago which specializes in commercial transactions and litigation. The firm employs more than 1,600 lawyers, including approximately 875 in the Americas, 425 in Europe and 300 in Asia. By revenue, Mayer Brown is the 14th largest law-firm in the world.

The three firms which now form the core of Mayer Brown were all founded in the 19th century. The US portion of the firm was founded in 1881 in Chicago, by Adolf Kraus and Levi Mayer, and was shortly thereafter known as Kraus, Mayer & Brackett. After several changes in name to reflect its changing membership the firm eventually became known in the US as Mayer, Brown & Platt. The English portion of the firm, Rowe & Maw, was established in 1895 in London and operated under that name until joining with Mayer, Brown & Platt in 2002 to form Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw. In 2007 the amalgamated firm shortened its name to Mayer Brown. JSM (formerly Johnson Stokes & Master) was formed in 1863 in Hong Kong and is today known as Mayer Brown JSM after merging with Mayer Brown in 2008.

John Clayton Mayer ( /ˈmeɪ.ər/ MAY-ər; (born October 16, 1977) is an American pop and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his skills and gained a following, and he now lives in New York City. His first two studio albums, Room for Squares and Heavier Things, did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Your Body Is a Wonderland."

Mayer began his career performing mainly acoustic rock, but gradually began a transition towards the blues genre in 2005 by collaborating with renowned blues artists such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton, and by forming the John Mayer Trio. The blues influence can be heard throughout his 2005 live album Try! with the John Mayer Trio and his third studio album Continuum, released in September 2006. At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007 Mayer won Best Pop Vocal Album for Continuum and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Waiting on the World to Change". He released his fourth studio album, Battle Studies, in November 2009. His fifth album, Born and Raised, was released on May 22, 2012. He has sold over 10 million albums in the U.S. and 20 million albums worldwide.

Howard Mayer Brown (April 13, 1930 - February 20, 1993) was an American musicologist.

Brown obtained his BA from Harvard in 1951 and his Ph.D. in 1959, studying under Walter Piston and Otto Gombosi among others. He conducted and performed on flute often as a graduate student. He taught at Wellesley College, 1958–60, and then at the University of Chicago from 1960, where he became chair of the music department in 1970. In 1972 he became professor at King's College in London, but returned to Chicago in 1974. Brown was editor of Renaissance Music in Facsimile, published 1977-1982, and was the general editor of several other monument series of musical editions. He contributed prolifically to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. He served as president of the American Musicological Society, 1978-80.

Brown's scholarship covered a wide range of subjects. He published on the music of the Renaissance, especially the chanson and instrumental music, and frequently returned to problems in historical performance practice, a subfield in which he was one of the most important commentators. His work Musical Iconography (1972) was an important study of the depictions of musical instruments in the visual arts. He also made contributions to the study of Baroque opera.

Robert Myles Hertzberg served as Speaker of the California State Assembly. He was twice elected unanimously Speaker of the State Assembly, and served two terms. In the State Assembly, he represented more than 400,000 constituents in the San Fernando Valley communities of Los Angeles. Since leaving the State Assembly in 2002, he has served as Co-Chair of California Forward and a member of The Think Long Committee of California, lost a 2005 bid to become mayor of Los Angeles, and maintains a law practice at the international firm Mayer Brown LLP, where he serves as Vice Chairman.

Robert Myles Hertzberg was born on November 19, 1954 in Los Angeles, California to Harrison W. Hertzberg and Antoinette "Bunny" Taussig Hertzberg. He was a graduate of Palm Springs High School. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Redlands with a Bachelor of Arts double major in History and English in 1976. While in college, he wrote a 400-page handbook, entitled A Commonsense Approach to English. Three years, later Hertzberg earned his Juris Doctor from Hastings College of the Law at the University of California in San Francisco. He has been an active member of the California State Bar since 1979.

Zac Brown Band is an American country, Southern rock, bluegrass, reggae and folk band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, vocals), Coy Bowles (guitar, keyboards), Chris Fryar (drums), Clay Cook (guitar, keyboards, mandolin, steel guitar, vocals), and Daniel de los Reyes (percussion). The band has toured throughout the United States, including a slot on the 2009 and 2010 Bonnaroo Music Festival. They have also recorded four studio albums, and charted eight Number One singles on the Billboard country charts: "Chicken Fried", "Toes", "Highway 20 Ride", "Free", "As She's Walking Away", "Colder Weather", "Knee Deep" and "Keep Me In Mind", in addition to the single "Whatever It Is," which peaked at number 2 on the same chart.

Zac Brown was born July 31, 1978 in Cumming, Georgia. He was raised by his mom and step-dad, a dentist on Lake Lanier. The 11th of 12 children, Brown attended Mashburn Elementary School in Cumming, Georgia, Lakeview Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, and South Forsyth High School in Cumming. He later moved to Dahlonega, Georgia, where he graduated from Lumpkin County High School. He learned to play classical guitar at the age of 6. As a teenager, he played solo gigs in local venues, performing country and pop cover songs. “Most of my brothers and sisters are older—the oldest is 21 years older than me—so a lot of them were in college or had families of their own by the time I was growing up," said Zac Brown in a interview, but that left him time to bond with his family. Because of this, he was able to learn many things as a child growing up, such as shotgun shooting and playing instruments.