Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
Formerly oldest continuously operating law firm in New York City
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP (known as Cadwalader) was a law firm based in New York City. It was the city's oldest law 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's Lower Manhattan headquarters is one of its five offices in three countries. In April 2026, partners of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and Hogan Lovells voted to merge the two law firms to form Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.[7]
New York City, U.S.[1]
 | |
| Headquarters | 200 Liberty Street New York City, U.S.[1] |
|---|---|
| No. of offices | 5 |
| No. of attorneys | Approximately 400 (2022)[2] |
| Key people | Patrick Quinn, managing partner[2] |
| Revenue | $608.9 million (2021)[3] |
| Profit per equity partner | $4.38 million (2021) |
| Date founded | 1792 |
| Founder | John Wells |
| Company type | LLP |
| Dissolved | 30 June 2026 |
| Website | cadwalader |
Overview
New York City's oldest law firm,[4][5] Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft was headquartered at 200 Liberty Street in Lower Manhattan.[1] The firm's final managing partner, Patrick Quinn, oversaw approximately 400 attorneys as of 2022.[2] It operated out of five offices across the United States and Europe. In addition to its Wall Street location, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft had offices in Washington, D.C., Charlotte, North Carolina, London, and Dublin.[8] In 2021, Cadwalader generated $608.9 million in revenue, with profits per partner of $4.38 million.[6]
History
Founding, 18th and 19th centuries
In 1792, attorney John Wells, a Princeton 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 noted diarist, joined the firm in 1844.
The firm became known as Strong, Bidwell & Strong[12] and then later 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 with John Lambert Cadwalader, who was assistant secretary of state during President 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 named U.S. Attorney General under President William Howard Taft.[9] Henry W. Taft, President Taft's brother, began working at Cadwalader in 1889;[5] he became partner in 1899.[13]
20th century
Taft served as special assistant to the U.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 of Gloria 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 in China, located in Beijing, in 2005.[16]
In the mid-1990s, a group of 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 in Palm Beach, Florida, and reduced a branch in Los 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]
21st century
Following the September 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 the 2008 financial crisis, Cadwalader reduced its number of lawyers by about 20 percent in 2008. A reporter for The 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 the U.S. Treasury as Chrysler and General Motors restructured.[21] Cadwalader expanded in China with a Hong Kong office in 2010.[22] In 2011, the firm 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, the firm agreed to a deal with Donald Trump to do 100 million dollars' worth of pro bono work on behalf of causes promoted by Trump,[26][27][28] which was followed by mass resignations of lawyers.[29][30]
On December 19, 2025, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft announced a merger with Hogan Lovells to form Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.[31][32][33] The merger was approved by partner votes at both firms on April 13, 2026.[7] The combined firm began operations in July 2026, with over 3,100 lawyers.[34][35]
Areas of practice
Cadwalader's practices covered varying areas of law, including: antitrust, capital markets, corporate, energy and commodities, finance, financial restructuring, financial services, health care/not-for-profit, intellectual property, litigation, tax and private wealth, and white collar defense and investigations.[36][37] The firm had long-standing client relationships with premier financial institutions, Fortune 500 companies, government entities, charitable and health care organizations, and private clients.[38] The firm also took on pro bono assignments, providing attorneys for non-profit organizations, including those assisting women, children and immigrants.[39][40]
One of the firm's highest-profile pro bono clients was Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai.[41] 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, a nonprofit organization advocating for women's access to education.[41]
Rankings and recognition
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.[42] In 2015, U.S. News & World Report named Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft "Law Firm of the Year" for derivatives and futures law.[43] Cadwalader was ranked No. 1 on the Commercial Mortgage Alert's top issuer counsel[44] and top underwriter counsel[45] tables for commercial mortgage-backed securities in 2015. Additionally, the firm received recognition in 2015 for its business culture[46] and diversity.[47][48]
In 2021, The American Lawyer ranked Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft No. 85 on the Am Law 100,[49] an annual ranking of U.S. firms by gross revenue.[50] 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.[51]
Notable staff
- John Lambert Cadwalader, US Assistant Secretary of State, name partner of Cadwalader[52]
- Oscar Cox, General Counsel of both the Lend-Lease Administration and the Office for Emergency Management, Assistant Solicitor General of the United States, and General Counsel of the Foreign Economic Administration.[53]
- Michael E. Horowitz, Inspector General of the US Department of Justice[54]
- Jonathan Kanter, assistant attorney general for the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division[55][56]
- William Schwartz, law professor and Dean of the Boston University School of Law
- Stephen N. Shulman, represented Egil Krogh during the Watergate scandal, served as General Counsel of the Air Force and Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Henry Waters Taft, antitrust lawyer, name partner of Cadwalader
- Richard H. Walker, general counsel of corporate and investment banking at Deutsche Bank, and director of the SEC Division of Enforcement
- Charlie Wang, lawyer and CEO of car companies
- George W. Wickersham, US Attorney General in the administration of President William H. Taft, President of the Council on Foreign Relations
- Todd Blanche[57][58]