Highlights Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
A Distinguished History
Established over 200 years ago, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP is one of the oldest law firms in the country. Founded in 1792, the firm has long been revolutionary in its approach. In the 19th century, Cadwalader was among the first to introduce technology such as typewriters and telephones to its offices and to replace the old system of unpaid law clerkships with the role of the associate. Cadwalader forged a niche in the early New York legal field by working on commercial claims, litigation, maritime law and real estate for banks, insurance companies and members of New York society. The real catalyst for the firm’s growth came when former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John L. Cadwalader joined the firm in 1878, bringing big-time corporate connections with him. The 1889 addition of name partner Henry W. Taft—whose older brother would later succeed Teddy Roosevelt in the White House—brought more political clout and cemented the firm’s status as a fixture in American law. In 1942, the firm elevated a woman, Catherine Noyes Lee, to partner: the first woman partner of a major Wall Street firm. Now, Cadwalader runs offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium and China, with a focus on transactions, dispute resolution, and regulatory support for leading financial institutions and corporations.
An Expanding Repertoire
Cadwalader has a sterling reputation as a premier financial services firm but complex corporate and litigation work for leading businesses has been on a rapid ascent with growing antitrust, energy, intellectual property, regulatory, securities and white-collar practices as well as a stable of prestigious clients, including leading financial services firms and institutions, such as: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, HSBC Bank USA, Morgan Stanley, UBS AG, and Wells Fargo; noted insurance companies such as AIG, Allstate, Ambac, Aon, CIGNA, FGIC, Inscap, John Hancock Life Insurance, Manulife, MBIA, MetLife, Munich Re, Prudential, Swiss Re, Transamerica, XL, and Zurich; and major commercial, industrial and service corporations, including Anheuser Busch InBev, Chevron, Dow Chemical, General Dynamics, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., IBM, Lockheed Martin, Lyondell, Motorola, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Qualcomm, Inc., and The Raytheon Company. This diversity has allowed the firm to ably weather economic storms, which are inevitable when one’s history spans over 200 years. The firm has placed itself where its clients’ needs dictate—including financial, energy, and political centers—and continues to position itself for growth. Growth in prominence means growth in opportunities. Cadwalader is the place for high profile work and early career experience.
Cadwalader Culture
In early 2010, Cadwalader undertook a series of initiatives and corresponding investments to enhance internal communication and to strengthen the Cadwalader community. As a result, there is significant dialogue about the firm, management, decision-making, community engagements, client work, pro bono activities, and relevant news via new and innovative approaches, including the use of video, blogs, and special on-line publications as well as future customized intranet portals, social media tools, and work station-enabled video chat. It is also a priority to provide casual settings for attorney interaction. Offices host monthly mixers, weekly happy hours, dinners, and outings.
The Practice
Cadwalader’s practice areas offer the new attorney real opportunities and challenges. Once you settle into a department, there will be tremendous interaction with clients, attorneys and issues both inside and outside your area. You’ll have the opportunity to gain valuable, hands-on experience that you may not get elsewhere. Each of our departments is unique and presents varied challenges. The descriptions that follow are just a brief introduction to our practices. Each of our offices has its areas of expertise. Check out the details by accessing our practice areas guide by office and visit our main website to learn more about the practices, the people in them, and the recognition we have received.
Capital Markets: With unparalleled experience in fixed income securities, structured finance, synthetic and hybrid products, whole loans, and derivatives, financial institutions frequently call upon the firm to help them develop new products and structures; to coordinate complex international transactions involving cross-border structures; and, with the recent dislocations in markets worldwide, to advise on related opportunities, challenges and issues.
Corporate: This department is comprised of lawyers with wide ranging expertise in mergers and acquisitions and securities, private equity, and debt finance. Representing issuers, purchasers, and underwriters, our M&A and Securities Group participates in the full range of securities transactions, including IPOs, exchange and secondary offerings, private placements, workouts, convertible debt and equity securities, and hybrid securities. They have also worked on many complex and noteworthy mergers, acquisitions, recapitalizations, spin-offs, and split-offs, as well as advised Fortune 500 companies, their boards, and senior executives on complex governance matters. The Private Equity Group offers insight to sponsors on leveraged buyouts; structured equity; mezzanine, real estate, venture, and growth capital investments; and investments in other private equity funds. The Finance Group addresses client needs in debt finance, including secured and unsecured commercial lending, mortgage banking, and equipment finance matters, as well as all manners of real estate investment, acquisitions, sales and exchanges, development, construction, and workouts on behalf of issuers and sponsors, underwriters, and lenders, and buyers and sellers of real estate properties, companies, and assets.
Financial Restructuring: Our record of dealing with some of the most complex U.S., European and Asian insolvencies in recent years has put us in the vanguard of corporate financial restructuring practices. Expert in all areas of bankruptcy, reorganization and workouts, our attorneys represent companies, secured and unsecured creditors, investors and other prominent parties with interests in these matters. Our wealth of experience extends across borders and industries, including energy, telecommunications, retail, insurance, financial products, real estate, health care, utilities, and transportation.
Financial Services: This group integrates a diverse regulatory practice with a regulation-intensive transactional practice. Our regulatory lawyers provide expertise on advisers, anti-money-laundering, banking, broker-dealers, commodities, distributions of securities, ERISA, FERC, funds and UCC issues. With one of the most diverse derivatives practices in the country, we represent both buy-side (banks and broker-dealers) and sell-side (hedge funds) institutions on both private and public deals. Our fund formation lawyers work with an equally broad client group, from public commodity pools to hedge funds and funds of funds.
Litigation: Cadwalader’s renowned litigators handle significant disputes for a broad spectrum of financial institutions and major corporations in state and federal courts throughout the US and abroad, as well as proceedings before administrative and regulatory agencies and international tribunals. The Antitrust Group has significant expertise with domestic and international antitrust issues, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, civil antitrust investigations, antitrust grand jury matters, and public and private litigation. The Business Fraud Group represents corporations and their boards, audit committees, directors, officers, and individuals in federal and state criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings and litigation, and in congressional investigations and hearings. The Commercial Litigation Team focuses on all types of complex commercial and contractual disputes. The Corporate and Securities Group handles significant disputes arising out of virtually every kind of corporate transaction, from hotly-contested M&A to nationwide shareholder class action suits to high profile government investigations and enforcement actions. The Energy and Commodities Group is experienced in all forms of investigations, disputes, and regulatory, compliance and legislative matters, including those involving the CFTC, FERC, the FTC, Congressional Committees and foreign regulators. The Intellectual Property Group handles complex patent and trade secret, ITC, and trademark litigation, as well as counsels on patent and trademark issues, licensing matters, and patent and trademark preparation and prosecution. The International Group advises clients in all types of complex international commercial and business controversies, including the jurisdictional, procedural and substantive issues that arise in multi-jurisdictional and transnational disputes.
Tax: Cadwalader’s tax team advises leading banks, corporations and high net-worth clients regarding tax rules in the United States and in Great Britain. We provide sophisticated counsel on the tax complexities of mergers, acquisitions, transactions involving derivatives, structured securities offerings, joint ventures, restructurings and other complex transactions, and advise on tax controversies, employee benefits, compensation and U.S. and foreign tax planning considerations.
Private Client: Cadwalader provides personal, financial, charitable and global tax and succession planning services to wealthy individuals, closely-held companies, and multinational financial institutions with the goals of preserving wealth and minimizing transfer and income taxation.
Headline Grabbing Cases and Deals
Cadwalader lawyers work on complex cases and deals for leading clients, including representing:
- Microsoft as lead antitrust counsel in numerous transactions, including in the acquisition of Skype and in obtaining clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission of an Internet search alliance with Yahoo! Inc.
- LyondellBasell Industries in its chapter 11 reorganization, including securing the largest bank-financed DIP in history
- The U.S. Treasury Department and Presidential Auto Task Force in the restructurings of Chrysler and GM and their related finance companies
- A federal prosecutor in an effort to maintain as privileged e-mails he sent to his attorney using government computers, where the ruling of the federal district court contradicted the belief that employees have no expectation of privacy on work computers
- Morgan Stanley in securities and antitrust actions related to auction rate securities
- Various funds of funds regarding risk management and investor relations advice in connection with exposure to Bernie L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC
- Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. in a preliminary injunction to enjoin Apotex from entering the market with its generic drug products prior to the expiration of Roche’s patent-in-suit
- Pfizer in its $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth
- The World Bank in the first transaction under its program for developing countries to purchase protection to provide funds for relief efforts in the event of natural catastrophic disasters
- Mead Johnson & Co. in its suit against Lexington Insurance Co. seeking defense of, and indemnification for, consumer class actions over its marketing of infant formula
- Icahn Global Enterprises as a secured lender in the Blockbuster chapter 11 cases
- DPL Inc., operator of the Dayton Power & Light utility, in its acquisition by AES Corp
- IBM in a patent infringement proceeding before the International Trade Commission against ASUSTek Computer and ASUS Computer International
- JPMorgan Chase in a $2 billion financing of the Extended Stay Hotel chain
- Procter & Gamble as special tax counsel in its sale of the Pringles brand to Diamond Foods
