 | |
| Headquarters | 200 Liberty Street,New York City,New York, U.S.[1] |
|---|---|
| No. of offices | 5 |
| No. of attorneys | Approximately 400[2] |
| Key people | Patrick Quinn,managing partner[2] |
| Revenue | $608.9 million (2021)[3] |
| Date founded | 1792; 233 years ago (1792) |
| Founder | John Wells |
| Company type | LLP |
| Website | www.cadwalader.com |
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP (known asCadwalader) is alaw firm based in New York City. It is the city's oldestlaw firm[4][5] and one of the oldest continuously operating legal practices in the United States.[6] Attorney John Wells founded the practice in 1792. Cadwalader'sLower Manhattan headquarters is one of its five offices in three countries. In 2022, the firm had approximately 400 attorneys.[7]
New York City's oldest law firm,[4][5] Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is headquartered at200 Liberty Street inLower Manhattan.[1] The firm's managing partner, Patrick Quinn, oversaw approximately 400 attorneys as of 2022.[2] It operates out of five offices across the United States and Europe. In addition to its Wall Street location, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has offices in Washington, D.C.,Charlotte, North Carolina, London, andDublin.[8] In 2021, Cadwalader generated $608.9 million in revenue, with profits per partner of $4.38 million.[6]
In 1792, attorney John Wells, aPrinceton graduate who was one of approximately 80 lawyers in New York City at the time, founded the law firm that ultimately became known as Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.[9] The firm became a partnership called Wells & Strong[10] in 1818 when George Washington Strong joined Wells' practice.[9]
Wells' death in 1823[5] prompted Strong to bring in George Griffin as partner. Griffin then left in 1838 and George Washington Strong partnered with Marshall Bidwell.[11] George Washington Strong's son,George Templeton Strong, a lawyer and noteddiarist, joined the firm in 1844. The firm became known as Strong, Bidwell & Strong.[12] The firm became Bidwell & Strong in 1855 after George Washington Strong's death.[11] Charles E. Strong, George Templeton Strong's cousin, became the firm's chief in the 1870s. During his tenure, he considered shuttering the firm and moving from law to banking.[9] In 1878, Strong partnered withJohn Lambert Cadwalader, who wasassistant secretary of state duringPresident Ulysses S. Grant's administration.[9]
George W. Wickersham, an antitrust lawyer, joined the firm in 1883[5] and made partner in 1887.[9] Wickersham was namedU.S. Attorney General underPresident William Howard Taft.[9]Henry W. Taft, President Taft's brother, began working at Cadwalader in 1889.[5] He became partner in 1899 and served as special assistant to theU.S. Attorney General from 1905 to 1907.[13] The firm became known as Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in 1914.[9]
In the 1930s, Cadwalader was involved with the custody trial determining the guardianship ofGloria Vanderbilt.[9][14] Catherine Noyes Lee became Cadwalader's first female partner in 1942.[9]
Cadwalader expanded its footprint as the firm opened an office in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1996,[8] established a London presence in 1997[15] and opened its first office inChina, located inBeijing, in 2005.[16]
In the mid-1990s, a group of young partners formed what some at Cadwalader referred to as Project Rightsize, an effort from 1994 to 1995 to remove less productive partners.[17] The group shuttered Cadwalader's office inPalm Beach, Florida, and reduced a branch inLos Angeles, California. In all, 17 partners, nearly 20 percent, left the firm.[17] Critics said the move was driven by individuals' financial interests and two former partners successfully sued Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft for violating its partnership agreement.[17]
Following theSeptember 11 attacks, Cadwalader assisted families of those killed,[18] including immigrant families.[19] A portion of the firm's post-9/11 work occurred when attorneys learned there was no central resource for families seeking benefits; as a result, Cadwalader lawyers put together the "Handbook of Public and Private Assistance Resources for the Victims and Families of the World Trade Center Attacks", which was released in November 2001.[18] The firm released an expanded version the following year.[18]
During the2008 financial crisis, Cadwalader reduced its number of lawyers by about 20 percent in 2008. A reporter forThe Wall Street Journal suggested the move was meant to lower operating costs as demand for its services decreased. Then-Chairman W. Christopher White stated, "There was a bubble, we rode that bubble, it contracted, and we adjusted".[20] Also during the fiscal crisis, Cadwalader attorneys served as advisers for theU.S. Treasury asChrysler andGeneral Motors restructured.[21] Cadwalader expanded in China with a Hong Kong office in 2010.[22] In 2011, it opened offices in Houston[23] and Brussels.[24]
In 2013, James C. Woolery left JP Morgan Chase for Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. The next year, Woolery was selected to take over as the firm's new chairman starting in 2015.[25] In January 2015, when the chairman-elect was slated to take the chairman's post, the firm announced Woolery had left Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft to launch a hedge fund.[2] The firm eliminated the chairman position and Managing Partner Patrick Quinn began overseeing the firm.[2]
In 2025, it agreed to a deal withDonald Trump to do 100 million dollars' worth ofpro bono work on behalf of causes promoted by Trump,[26][27][28] followed by mass resignations of lawyers.[29][30]
Cadwalader's practices cover varying areas of law, including: antitrust,capital markets,corporate, energy andcommodities,finance, financialrestructuring,financial services,health care/not-for-profit,intellectual property, litigation,tax and private wealth, and white collar defense and investigations.[31] The firm has long-standing client relationships with premier financial institutions,Fortune 500 companies, government entities, charitable and health care organizations, and private clients.[32] The firm also takes onpro bono assignments, providing attorneys for non-profit organizations, including those assisting women, children and immigrants.[33][34]
One of the firm's highest-profilepro bono clients wasNobel laureateMalala Yousafzai.[35] Cadwalader began representing the female education activist in 2012, while she was seventeen years old and still hospitalized by a Taliban shooting. The firm continued to represent her for two years, ultimately establishing the Malala Fund, anonprofit organization advocating for women's access to education.[35]
Law associates surveyed for the Vault 100 law firm rankings placed Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft at No. 53 on its 2024 list of most prestigious firms to work for.[36] In 2015,U.S. News & World Report named Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft "Law Firm of the Year" for derivatives and futures law.[37] Cadwalader was ranked No. 1 on the Commercial Mortgage Alert's top issuer counsel[38] and top underwriter counsel[39] tables for commercial mortgage-backed securities in 2015. Additionally, the firm received recognition in 2015 for itsbusiness culture[40] and diversity.[41][42]
In 2021,The American Lawyer ranked Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft No. 85 on the Am Law 100,[43] an annual ranking of U.S. firms bygross revenue.[44] The publication also classified Cadwalader as one of only twenty-four "Superrich Firms" in the United States, categorized as those generating at least $1 million in revenue per lawyer and $2 million in profits per partner.[45]
