Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, known as Davis Polk, is an international law firm headquartered in New York City with 961 attorneys. It is consistently ranked as one of the most prestigious law firms in the world and as one of New York's most powerful law firms. As of July 2018, starting salary for first-year associates was $190,000.
Video Davis Polk & Wardwell
History
The firm traces its origins to Gunthrie, Bangs & Van Sinderen, founded in 1849 by Francis S. Bangs, an opponent of Tammany Hall. The firm changed its name several times to account for new partners, using names such as Bangs, Stetson, Tracy, and McVeigh and Stetson, Jennings & Russell. Among other high-profile lawyers, Grover Cleveland served as a member of the firm during the interval between his two non-consecutive presidential terms. Davis Polk was located at 15 Broad Street from around 1889 until 1959.
The firm takes its current name from three 20th century partners: John W. Davis, Frank Polk, and Allen Wardwell. Davis, a former United States Solicitor General and the 1924 Democratic presidential nominee, made 139 oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court, most infamously in Brown v. Board of Education, in which he represented South Carolina in defense of racial segregation. With Polk and Wardwell, Davis developed close ties between the firm and J.P. Morgan & Co., Guaranty Trust Company, The Associated Press, and International Paper.
In 1971, Lydia Kess was the first woman at the firm that was promoted to partner.
During the financial crisis of 2007-2008, the firm represented many clients, including the United States Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the firm had roles in the AIG, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, and Citigroup matters.
In 2009, to bolster its financial regulatory practice, the firm hired 3 former Securities and Exchange Commission officials: Commissioner Annette Nazareth, Director of Enforcement Linda Chatman Thomsen, and Deputy Director of Trading and Markets Robert Colby--as well as former White House Staff Secretary Raul Yanesand former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation General Counsel John Douglas.
Maps Davis Polk & Wardwell
Notable associates
Current associates
Among its partners are former FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz.
Former associates
Judiciary
- Ronnie Abrams - U.S. District Court Judge, Southern District of New York
- Thomas J. Aquilino, Jr. - Senior Judge, U.S Court of International Trade
- Richard M. Berman - U.S. District Court Judge, Southern District of New York
- Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum - Senior U.S. District Court Judge, Southern District of New York
- Denny Chin - U.S. Circuit Court Judge, Second Circuit Court of Appeals
- Hardy Cross Dillard - International Court of Justice
- Warren Eginton - Senior U.S. District Court Judge, District of Connecticut
- Thomas P. Griesa - Senior U.S. District Court Judge, Southern District of New York
- Cheryl Ann Krause - Nominee, Third Circuit Court of Appeals
- J. Michael Luttig - Former U.S. Circuit Court Judge, Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
- Amy J. St. Eve - U.S. District Court Judge, Northern District of Illinois
- Louis L. Stanton - Senior U.S. District Court Judge, Southern District of New York
- John M. Walker, Jr. - U.S. Circuit Court Judge, Second Circuit Court of Appeals
- Lawrence Edward Walsh - Former U.S. District Court Judge, Southern District of New York
Elected office
- Grover Cleveland - 22nd & 24th President of the United States
- John Danforth - Former U.S. Senator (R-MO) and Ambassador to the United Nations
- Kirsten Gillibrand - U.S. Senator (D-NY)
- Ben McAdams - State Senator, Utah State Legislature
- Reshma Saujani - Candidate, U.S. House of Representatives, New York's 14th congressional district
- Terri Sewell - U.S. Representative, Alabama's 7th congressional district
- Chen Show Mao - Member of Singaporean Parliament, Aljunied Group Representation Constituency, Workers' Party of Singapore
Law enforcement and financial regulation
- Paul S. Atkins - Former Commissioner, Securities and Exchange Commission
- Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. - Former Vice-Chairman, Federal Reserve System; President & CEO, TIAA-CREF
- Robert B. Fiske - Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
- Samuel Hazard Gillespie Jr. - Former U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York
- Gary Lynch - Former Director, Division of Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission
- Charles E. F. Millard - Former Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
- Ogden Livingston Mills - Former Secretary of the Treasury
- Annette Nazareth - Former Commissioner, Securities and Exchange Commission
- Randal Quarles - Former Undersecretary for Domestic Finance, United States Department of the Treasury
- Howard Shelanski - Commissioner, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
- Linda Chatman Thomsen - Former Director, Division of Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission
- Lawrence Edward Walsh - Former Deputy Attorney General and Independent Counsel, Iran-Contra Investigation
- Jerome Powell - member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Other government service
- John Bridgeland - Former Director, United States Domestic Policy Council
- John W. Davis - Former United States Solicitor General; Democratic Presidential Nominee, 1924
- Reuben Jeffery III - Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State
- Charles MacVeagh - Former United States Ambassador to Japan
- Richard Moe - President, National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Jennifer Newstead - Former General Counsel, Office of Management and Budget
- Frank Polk - Former Acting U.S. Secretary of State
- Peter Tufo - Former United States Ambassador to Hungary
- John E. Zuccotti - Former Deputy Mayor, New York City; namesake of Zuccotti Park
Business
- Alexander Cushing - Founder and Chairman, Ski Corporation
- Eli Whitney Debevoise - Founding Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton
- Tom Glocer - CEO, Thomson Reuters
- Steven Goldstone - Former President & CEO, RJR Nabisco
- Robert Harrison - CEO, Clinton Global Initiative
- Lewis B. Kaden - Vice Chairman, Citigroup
- H. F. Lenfest - Founder, Lenfest Communications
- J. Michael Luttig - General Counsel, Boeing
- Gary Lynch - Former Vice Chairman, Morgan Stanley; Former Vice Chairman, Credit Suisse First Boston; Global General Counsel, Bank of America
- Axel Miller - Chairman & CEO, Dexia S.A.
- Francis Lynde Stetson - Attorney for John Pierpont Morgan; former president, New York State Bar Association.
Media and entertainment
- Lisa Daniels - Correspondent, NBC News
- He Li - Chinese Poet
- Crystal McKellar - Actress
Academia
- Harry Ballan - Dean, Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, commonly known as Touro Law Center
- George Bermann - Director, European Legal Studies Center, Columbia Law School
- Charles Black - Professor, Yale Law School
- Brian Casey - President, DePauw University
- Barry E. Friedman - Vice Dean, New York University School of Law
- Linda Lorimer - Vice President, Yale University
- Jane B. Korn - Dean, Gonzaga University School of Law
- Julie O'Sullivan - Professor, Georgetown University Law Center
- David Schizer - Professor & Dean Emeritus, Columbia Law School
- David E. Van Zandt - President, The New School, Former Dean, Northwestern University School of Law
Recognitions
- In 2012 and 2013, Davis Polk was named "America's Law Firm of the Year" by the International Financial Law Review.
- In 2010, Davis Polk was ranked third in "Revenue per Lawyer" by the American Lawyer's top 100 National Firms.
- Individual Davis Polk insolvency & restructuring lawyers were named "Dealmaker of the Year" by The American Lawyer.
- "Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyer" by Turnarounds & Workouts and "Lawyer of the Year" by Law Business Research's Who's Who Legal-International Who's Who of Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyers.
- Davis Polk ranked in the first tier among New York law firms in U.S. tax matters by Chambers USA, which commented that "with a 'terrific team of excellent tax lawyers,' the group successfully mixes M&A and finance, establishing itself as one of the premier law firms in New York, and indeed across the USA".
- In October 2008, a Davis Polk team working with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund won a $0 million judgment on behalf of immigrant workers who were being paid below the statutory minimum wage by their employer, a popular Manhattan restaurant.
- In March 2007, Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) awarded Davis Polk its Heroes Honors 25th Anniversary Award for the corporate pro bono work the firm has done on the organization's behalf.
See also
- Magic Circle (law)
- White shoe firms
References
Further reading
- Stewart, James (1983). The Partners: Inside America's Most Powerful Law Firms. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-42023-2.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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