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Cravath, Swaine & Moore: Difference between revisions

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(Short logo for Cravath; replaces previous image which is not a logo, rather more like a header)
wikilaw>Remando
(practice, founder info etc. per their website; some out of date references)
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| num_attorneys  = 500+ attorneys
| num_attorneys  = 500+ attorneys
| num_employees  =
| num_employees  =
| practice_areas  = General practice
| practice_areas  = Corporate, Litigation, Tax, Executive Compensation and Trusts and Estates
| key_people      = Evan Chesler, Presiding Partner
| key_people      = Evan Chesler, Presiding Partner
| revenue        = {{gain}} [[United States dollar|US$]] 569 Million (2009)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2010/03/al100cravath.html|title=THE AM LAW 100: A Good Year for Cravath|work=Am Law|accessdate=2010-4-9}}</ref>  
| revenue        = {{gain}} [[United States dollar|US$]] 569 Million (2009)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2010/03/al100cravath.html|title=THE AM LAW 100: A Good Year for Cravath|work=Am Law|accessdate=2010-4-9}}</ref>  
| date_founded    = 1819
| date_founded    = 1819
| founder        = Richard Blatchford
| founder        = Richard Blatchford and William H. Seward
| company_type    = [[Limited liability partnership]]
| company_type    = [[Limited liability partnership]]
| homepage        = [http://www.cravath.com/ www.cravath.com]
| homepage        = [http://www.cravath.com/ www.cravath.com]
Line 18: Line 18:


==History==
==History==
The firm arose from two predecessor firms, one in New York City and one in [[Auburn, New York]].  In 1854 these firms merged to form the firm of Blatchford, Seward & Griswold. Name partner [[Samuel Blatchford]] later served on the [[United States Supreme Court]]. Name partner [[William H. Seward]] later served as both governor of and a senator from New York, then became [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] under [[President of the United States|Presidents]] [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[Andrew Johnson]].  In 1867, he negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia in a transaction contemporaries derisively called "[[Alaska Purchase|Seward's Folly]]."  [[Paul Drennan Cravath]] joined the firm in 1899.  He instituted the "[[Cravath System]]", a training program for associates which rotates them among the firm's partners within a given practice area. After a series of name changes, the Cravath, Swaine & Moore name was made permanent in 1944.   
The firm arose from two predecessor firms, one in New York City and one in [[Auburn, New York]].  In 1854 these firms merged to form the firm of Blatchford, Seward & Griswold. Name partner [[Samuel Blatchford]] later served on the [[United States Supreme Court]]. Name partner [[William H. Seward]] later served as both governor of and a senator from New York, then became [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] under [[President of the United States|Presidents]] [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[Andrew Johnson]].  In 1867, he negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia in a transaction contemporaries derisively called "[[Alaska Purchase|Seward's Folly]]."  [[Paul Drennan Cravath]] joined the firm in 1899.  He instituted the "[[Cravath System]]". The system combines a distinctive way of approaching the hiring, training and compensation of lawyers. After a series of name changes, the Cravath, Swaine & Moore name was made permanent in 1944.   


Cravath has represented high profile businesses, ranging from [[Samuel F.B. Morse]], the inventor of the [[telegraph]] to corporations such as [[IBM]], [[PriceWaterhouseCoopers]], and [[CBS]].  It also performed the legal work necessary to form [[NBC]].  More recent decades have seen Cravath represent [[Netscape Communications Corporation|Netscape]] in its antitrust suit against [[Microsoft]], resulting in a $750 million settlement; major merger and acquisition deals, such as the [[DuPont]]-[[Conoco]] merger, the [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]-[[Jaguar (car)|Jaguar]] merger, the [[Bristol-Myers-Squibb]] merger, the [[Time-Warner]] merger, and the [[AOL]]-[[Time-Warner]] merger; and two famed libel suits: defending [[Time Inc.]] against Israeli General [[Ariel Sharon]], and also defending [[CBS]] against [[U.S. Army]] [[General]] [[William Westmoreland]].
Cravath has represented high profile businesses, from [[United Airlines]] in its merger with [[Continental Airlines]], the world's largest airline, to [[Unilever]] in its acquisition of [[Alberto Culver]]. In 2010, its litigation department won summary judgment for [[Morgan Stanley]] on its breach of contract claim against [[Discover Financial Services]]. In a subsequent settlement, Discover agreed to pay Morgan Stanley $775 million to resolve the litigation. In the same year they successfully represented [[Barnes & Noble]] in a landmark "[[poison pill]]" trial. Past clients ranged from [[Samuel F.B. Morse]], the inventor of the [[telegraph]] to corporations such as [[IBM]], [[PriceWaterhouseCoopers]], and [[CBS]].  It also performed the legal work necessary to form [[NBC]].  More recent decades have seen Cravath represent [[Netscape Communications Corporation|Netscape]] in its antitrust suit against [[Microsoft]], resulting in a $750 million settlement; major merger and acquisition deals, such as the [[DuPont]]-[[Conoco]] merger, the [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]-[[Jaguar (car)|Jaguar]] merger, the [[Bristol-Myers-Squibb]] merger, the [[Time-Warner]] merger, and the [[AOL]]-[[Time-Warner]] merger; and two famed libel suits: defending [[Time Inc.]] against Israeli General [[Ariel Sharon]], and also defending [[CBS]] against [[U.S. Army]] [[General]] [[William Westmoreland]].


Unlike others, Cravath has remained relatively small. Its approximately 500 lawyers are located primarily in the New York Office, with just a few dozen in the London office, which opened in 1973.  Cravath drew attention to its bankruptcy practice on November 10, 2010 by offering free representation in advance of a likely Chapter 9 filing for Harrisburg, PA. <ref>http://www.marksmarketanalysis.com/2010/11/harrisburg-pa-hires-bankruptcy-attorney.html</ref>
Unlike others, Cravath has remained relatively small. Its approximately 500 lawyers are located primarily in the New York Office, with just a few dozen in the London office, which opened in 1973.  Cravath drew attention to its bankruptcy practice on November 10, 2010 by offering free representation in advance of a likely Chapter 9 filing for Harrisburg, PA. <ref>http://www.marksmarketanalysis.com/2010/11/harrisburg-pa-hires-bankruptcy-attorney.html</ref>


==Rankings==
==Rankings==
The firm consistently ranks at or near the top of various industry surveys, such as the [[Vault (company)|Vault]].com Partner (#1, 2009) and Associate (#2, 2009) prestige surveys. It consistently ranks within the top 3 on numerous [[Vault (company)|Vault]].com specialty rankings, including Antitrust, Corporate, Litigation, Mergers & Acquisitions, Securities and Tax.<ref>[http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?co_page=1&product_id=293&ch_id=242 www.vault.com]</ref>  Chambers and Partners ranks Cravath in its top tiers for Antitrust, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate/M&A, Litigation and Tax.<ref>[http://www.chambersandpartners.com/USA/Firms/3830-32533 Chambers and Partners]</ref>
The firm consistently ranks at or near the top of various industry surveys, such as the [[Vault (company)|Vault]].com Partner (#1, 2009) and Associate (#2, 2009) prestige surveys. It consistently ranks within the top 3 on numerous [[Vault (company)|Vault]].com specialty rankings, including Antitrust, Corporate, Litigation, Mergers & Acquisitions, Securities and Tax.<ref>[http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?co_page=1&product_id=293&ch_id=242 www.vault.com]</ref>  Chambers and Partners ranks Cravath in its top tier for Banking & Finance, Capital Markets (Debt & Equity), Corporate/M&A, Environmental, Media and Entertainment, Securities and General Commercial Litigation and Tax.<ref>[http://www.chambersandpartners.com/USA/Firms/3830-32533 Chambers and Partners]</ref>


In 2010, Cravath was ranked fifth in ''[[The American Lawyer]]'''s annual listing of highest profits per partner. <ref>http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?id=1202448485135</ref> In 2008, Cravath posted profits per partner of $3,300,000—the second most among all firms.<ref>[http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202424834825 www.law.com]</ref> While Cravath had for many years generated the highest profits per partner of any large law firm worldwide, rival New York firm [[Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz]], the [[mergers and acquisitions]] powerhouse, has generated larger profits during the last several years, earning profits per partner of $4,945,000 in 2008. In addition, several other New York law firms, such as [[Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft]] ($2,725,000); [[Simpson Thacher & Bartlett]] ($2,875,000); and [[Sullivan & Cromwell]] ($3,055,000) have recently generated profits per partner approaching Cravath's.
In 2010, Cravath was ranked fifth in ''[[The American Lawyer]]'''s annual listing of highest profits per partner. <ref>http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?id=1202448485135</ref>  


==Hiring==
==Hiring==
Entry to the firm is highly selective, generally open to only the most academically successful students from the most elite law schools in the United States and Canada. As with many top law firms, employee turnover is exceedingly high, with many attorneys departing the firm following a relatively brief tenure.  As a rule of thumb, a third of an entering class departs by the end of their third year, and another third of those remaining depart by the end of their fifth year.<ref>[http://www.legalweek.com/Articles/118582/New+York+Constructing+Cravath.html LegalWeek.com]</ref>
Entry to the firm is highly selective, generally open to only the most academically successful students from the most elite law schools in the United States and Canada.  


The firm is known for focusing its hiring on associates straight from law school; lateral hires are rare at the associate level and new partners are almost never taken on. In 2005, Cravath hired [[Andrew W. Needham]], formerly a [[Tax law|tax]] partner at [[Willkie Farr & Gallagher]],<ref>[http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1110449112913 Cravath Hires Tax Partner, Its First Lateral in Decades]</ref> as the first lateral partner since [[Herbert L. Camp]], also a tax partner, from the now-defunct [[Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine]] in 1987. Camp, however, had previously been a Cravath associate and is therefore not considered a true lateral because he started his career there; the last true lateral at the firm was [[Roswell Magill]], a former Treasury Department official, who became a Cravath tax partner in 1943. In 2007, the firm brought in [[Richard Levin (lawyer)|Richard Levin]] from [[Skadden, Arps]] to boost its new [[bankruptcy]] practice.<ref>[http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/09/the-horror-the-horror-cravath-starts-a-bankruptcy-practice/ Cravath starts a bankruptcy practice]</ref>
The firm is known for focusing its hiring on associates straight from law school; lateral hires are rare at the associate level and new partners are almost never taken on. In 2005, Cravath hired [[Andrew W. Needham]], formerly a [[Tax law|tax]] partner at [[Willkie Farr & Gallagher]],<ref>[http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1110449112913 Cravath Hires Tax Partner, Its First Lateral in Decades]</ref> as the first lateral partner since [[Herbert L. Camp]], also a tax partner, from the now-defunct [[Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine]] in 1987. Camp, however, had previously been a Cravath associate and is therefore not considered a true lateral because he started his career there; the last true lateral at the firm was [[Roswell Magill]], a former Treasury Department official, who became a Cravath tax partner in 1943. In 2007, the firm brought in [[Richard Levin (lawyer)|Richard Levin]] from [[Skadden, Arps]] to boost its new [[bankruptcy]] practice.<ref>[http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/09/the-horror-the-horror-cravath-starts-a-bankruptcy-practice/ Cravath starts a bankruptcy practice]</ref>
Line 47: Line 47:
*[[Valerie Caproni]], [[FBI]] General Counsel  
*[[Valerie Caproni]], [[FBI]] General Counsel  
*[[Kenneth Dam]], Deputy Secretary of Treasury, 2001-2003; Deputy Secretary of State, 1982-1985
*[[Kenneth Dam]], Deputy Secretary of Treasury, 2001-2003; Deputy Secretary of State, 1982-1985
*[[Patricia M. Geoghegan]], Acting Special Master for [[TARP]] Executive Compensation
*[[Roswell Gilpatric]], Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1961-1964; Chairman, Task Force on Nuclear Proliferation, 1964<ref>{{cite news |first=Eric |last=Pace |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Rosewell L. Gilpatric, Lawyer and Kennedy Aide, Dies at 89 |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E2D61639F934A25750C0A960958260 |work=New York Times |publisher= |date=1996-03-17 |accessdate= }}</ref>
*[[Roswell Gilpatric]], Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1961-1964; Chairman, Task Force on Nuclear Proliferation, 1964<ref>{{cite news |first=Eric |last=Pace |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Rosewell L. Gilpatric, Lawyer and Kennedy Aide, Dies at 89 |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E2D61639F934A25750C0A960958260 |work=New York Times |publisher= |date=1996-03-17 |accessdate= }}</ref>
*[[Roswell Magill]], Treasury Department official
*[[Roswell Magill]], Treasury Department official
*[[Alfred McCormack]], Director of Intelligence of the [[Military Intelligence Service]] and Special Assistant to the Secretary of State
*[[Timothy G. Massad]], Acting Head of the [[Office of Financial Stability]]
*[[John J. McCloy]], former Assistant Secretary of War, former president of the [[World Bank]], former adviser to several U.S. presidents
*[[John J. McCloy]], former Assistant Secretary of War, former president of the [[World Bank]], former adviser to several U.S. presidents
*[[Frederick A. O. Schwarz, Jr.]], New York City Corporation Counsel
*[[Frederick A. O. Schwarz, Jr.]], New York City Corporation Counsel

Revision as of 09:42, July 8, 2011

Template:Infobox law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (“Cravath”) is a prominent American law firm based in New York City, with an additional office in London. The second oldest firm in the country (after New York's Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft), Cravath was founded in 1819 and consistently ranks first among the world's most prestigious law firms according to a survey of associates.[1]

History

The firm arose from two predecessor firms, one in New York City and one in Auburn, New York. In 1854 these firms merged to form the firm of Blatchford, Seward & Griswold. Name partner Samuel Blatchford later served on the United States Supreme Court. Name partner William H. Seward later served as both governor of and a senator from New York, then became Secretary of State under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. In 1867, he negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia in a transaction contemporaries derisively called "Seward's Folly." Paul Drennan Cravath joined the firm in 1899. He instituted the "Cravath System". The system combines a distinctive way of approaching the hiring, training and compensation of lawyers. After a series of name changes, the Cravath, Swaine & Moore name was made permanent in 1944.

Cravath has represented high profile businesses, from United Airlines in its merger with Continental Airlines, the world's largest airline, to Unilever in its acquisition of Alberto Culver. In 2010, its litigation department won summary judgment for Morgan Stanley on its breach of contract claim against Discover Financial Services. In a subsequent settlement, Discover agreed to pay Morgan Stanley $775 million to resolve the litigation. In the same year they successfully represented Barnes & Noble in a landmark "poison pill" trial. Past clients ranged from Samuel F.B. Morse, the inventor of the telegraph to corporations such as IBM, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and CBS. It also performed the legal work necessary to form NBC. More recent decades have seen Cravath represent Netscape in its antitrust suit against Microsoft, resulting in a $750 million settlement; major merger and acquisition deals, such as the DuPont-Conoco merger, the Ford-Jaguar merger, the Bristol-Myers-Squibb merger, the Time-Warner merger, and the AOL-Time-Warner merger; and two famed libel suits: defending Time Inc. against Israeli General Ariel Sharon, and also defending CBS against U.S. Army General William Westmoreland.

Unlike others, Cravath has remained relatively small. Its approximately 500 lawyers are located primarily in the New York Office, with just a few dozen in the London office, which opened in 1973. Cravath drew attention to its bankruptcy practice on November 10, 2010 by offering free representation in advance of a likely Chapter 9 filing for Harrisburg, PA. [2]

Rankings

The firm consistently ranks at or near the top of various industry surveys, such as the Vault.com Partner (#1, 2009) and Associate (#2, 2009) prestige surveys. It consistently ranks within the top 3 on numerous Vault.com specialty rankings, including Antitrust, Corporate, Litigation, Mergers & Acquisitions, Securities and Tax.[3] Chambers and Partners ranks Cravath in its top tier for Banking & Finance, Capital Markets (Debt & Equity), Corporate/M&A, Environmental, Media and Entertainment, Securities and General Commercial Litigation and Tax.[4]

In 2010, Cravath was ranked fifth in The American Lawyer's annual listing of highest profits per partner. [5]

Hiring

Entry to the firm is highly selective, generally open to only the most academically successful students from the most elite law schools in the United States and Canada.

The firm is known for focusing its hiring on associates straight from law school; lateral hires are rare at the associate level and new partners are almost never taken on. In 2005, Cravath hired Andrew W. Needham, formerly a tax partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher,[6] as the first lateral partner since Herbert L. Camp, also a tax partner, from the now-defunct Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine in 1987. Camp, however, had previously been a Cravath associate and is therefore not considered a true lateral because he started his career there; the last true lateral at the firm was Roswell Magill, a former Treasury Department official, who became a Cravath tax partner in 1943. In 2007, the firm brought in Richard Levin from Skadden, Arps to boost its new bankruptcy practice.[7]

Famous current and former employees

Judiciary

Government Service

Business

Law

Academia

Publishing

References

  1. ↑ Law Firm Rankings - 2012 Vault Law 100, Vault
  2. ↑ http://www.marksmarketanalysis.com/2010/11/harrisburg-pa-hires-bankruptcy-attorney.html
  3. ↑ www.vault.com
  4. ↑ Chambers and Partners
  5. ↑ http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?id=1202448485135
  6. ↑ Cravath Hires Tax Partner, Its First Lateral in Decades
  7. ↑ Cravath starts a bankruptcy practice
  8. ↑ Pace, Eric Rosewell L. Gilpatric, Lawyer and Kennedy Aide, Dies at 89, New York Times  (1996-03-17)
  9. ↑ New York Times
  10. ↑ New Yorker
  11. ↑ Lawyer makes history as youngest SNU professor, JoongAng Daily

Further reading

  • Swaine, Robert T. (2007).The Cravath Firm and Its Predecessors: 1819-1947. Clark, NJ: Lawbook Exchange.

External links

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